Mine was purchased used. The various manuals on the information section are all that is needed.
There was a time on several internet forums (1911.com and Pistolsmith.com) when Rock Rivers customer service was considered very poor. Due dates given and not met, in fact, some significantly longer than quoted. People sending in orders and before the project started deciding on some last minute changes were having a difficult time talking with someone who understood what they were talking about and where their orders were actually located. People were having a difficult time getting questions answered. Their response to e-mails were very slow. The people who could not answer the questions were suppose to have someone who could respond and it often did not happen. My recollection was there were several who cancelled orders because of the service. All that being said, the Rock Rivers 1911's are very nice firearms. My first and only recently purchased AR is a Rock River and I'm extremely pleased with the quality fo this gun. I don't know if their service has improved but the products are great and well worth the wait.