I own two of the RIA guns. The standard 1911-A1 and the Tactical model. Both 5" models.
While they may not present CNC internals, match grade barrels, etc they both have been 100% reliable out of the box when used with Wilson Combat magazines. Their accuracy is as good as any Kimber @ the 25 yard line, if your doing your part with the trigger and grip and sight alignment.
The parkerized finish leaves a bit to be desired, but it's a $400+ gun. While the finish is smooth and even it does wear and you will see a slight difference in coloring after handling them day in and day out. If this bothers you then simply have it refinished or Armor Coated.
The extractors in both of mine where tuned perfectly at the manufacturer vs my Kimber Tactical Custom II which needed tuning about every 250 rounds and literally fell out of the slide when I removed the firing pin. It's not supposed to do that and the RIA guns do not. The mainspring housing is also steel vs my Kimbers plastic MSH. Go figure.
I have heard that the frame is cast steel and have heard that they are in fact forged steel, but I can't tell the difference. YMMV. Still better than an aluminum frame, in my opinion.
First thing I did to both RIA guns was remove the wood grips and installed the VZ G10 "Operators" Not only do both guns look great but the "Operator" grips from VZ are possibly the best grips for tactical and defensive use. They both look high dollar when in fact they are not.
For the money, you will not be dissapointed.