Being a home hobby machinist I took special note of the internal finish and fit of the gun. I can say that it compares favorably with the older S&W's I've also got. Yes the AP uses MIM or equivalent. There are obvious molding signs on the parts. But the fit and finish is very much up to par. There's no excessive wobble or play and the parts all work against each other nicely. The design of the action shares nothing with S&W. It's not a clone in that regard.
Note that there ARE a lot of MIM parts in the AP guns. For all the hand wringing that goes on over MIM on the web I've never heard of the parts wearing unduly or breaking any more often than the old forged or machined parts. If you're worried about this aspect like some are then you won't like the AP gun. For reliability it's a little early to tell. A couple of the owners from this recent production have come on here reporting broken parts. But since it's a mechanical device SOME issues are to be expected. So far in the threads I've read Blue Line sounds like they've been wonderful at supporting this new product by working with the owners to get the guns back up and running ASAP and at little or no cost.
I like the one I got. But I'm reluctant to recommend it to anyone looking for a gun they know will last for the NEXT 100 years in terms of parts and support. AP and their commitment to making revolvers is just too new to know where things will be in 10 years time. Let alone 100. So for those that care about S&W like longevity an AP is likely a bad choice. But for anyone willing to take a slight but still present gamble on their longevity it IS a nice gun for the money in terms of design, build quality and to shoot.
