Essex provided frame castings not only for Detonics, but also for the now-defunct Brolin Arms, and the current Dan Wesson 1911 clones. Apparently, their quality is much better now than it was twenty-five years ago; if there stuff wasn't pretty good, they couldn't stay in business that long. Cast frames used to get a bad rap, and I still prefer forged ones, but Caspian made their rep on cast frames, and Rugers are all made from castings, so casting is here to stay. That said, what I don't like about Essex frames is the contouring (or lack of it) on the front strap and dust cover. For some reason, Essex, Auto Ord, and Springfield don't contour their frames like Colt/G.I. guns, and it looks and feels weird if you're accustomed to the other style.