Let’s be honest with ourselves: the original M1911 is the sexiest version of the pistol we have ever known. Its unadulterated form is an icon of everything from the dying days of the American West to the dropping of the Atomic Bomb in 1945. Colt’s reintroduction of this pistol in the early 2000s is considered by most to be a wonderful collector’s piece… but to me, it’s the perfect base gun for a custom build.