Alchemy Arms Spectre - Why'd It Fail?

[Joshua M. Smith]

Hello,

I was looking through some old gun rags I have laying around. I came across an ad for an "Alchemy Arms Spectre," which looked like a 1911 crossed with a Glock.



I think it looks kinda' cool, and it could be had in .45acp.

What I'm not understanding is, why did this design fail? The Springfield XD has a pivoting trigger, something some 1911 enthusiasts hate, and it has only the grip safety.

The Spectre thing, if it functioned well, looks like it should have been at least as successful as the XD.

I can't find much about these on the 'net? It looks like Alchemy Arms has gone under (no web page any longer), and the only real info is on someone's blog, here: http://bewaryandcarry.blogspot.com/2005/05/alchemy-arms-spectre.html

What can you tell me about this thing, and what happened to it?

Thanks,

Josh <><

 

[Walkalong]

I don't know. It is an interesting pistol, and what Bond fan could not resist a "Spectre" pistola.

 

[BucksDC]

Hello

Wow,
What a blast from the past. I remember when these were advertised. I really wanted one. But, they never made it to market. Was it an import that couldn't meet criteria?? Or a US start-up that couldn't launch it's product?
Anyone have one, or know the story?

 

[Janos Dracwlya]

Interesting. My local Gander Mountain has (or had, not sure they still do) one of those in the case. Thanks for the information; I was a little bit curious about it.

 

[tekarra]

Yes sir, a blast from the past.
If recall, they were made by a British company. Can't find anything on them quickly, so will have to do some digging.

 

[Ethereal]

They were available in .45
My local shop had a pair of them in their case for almost three years before they disappeared. The way the story went was that the initial offer to carry the Spectre's in their store was that they paid the dealer's cost up front like normal and if they didn't sell within a year then the manufacturer would reimburse the dealer and take the pistols back.... well a year passed and no one bought the pair of pistols so the manager and owner began taking turns calling them up and leaving messages to take the pistols back since no one bought them. Time continued to pass and no one would return their calls, months later they tried again and finally found out that the line was disconnected and the company was gone. A collector whose interest was in only .45acp pistols eventually bought one that I know of; the other, who can say.....