In case you all were wondering, I got it!
Kind of bitter sweet for me because I am a victim of poor timing. First the smoker shows up much faster than I expected and I was out of town, then I come home excited to use it this weekend only to remember that my daughter is going to State for powerlifting, and we won't be home this weekend. Meetings out of town next week ...
So, for now to give myself some sense of accomplishment, I am seasoning the smoker. Thats not much, but, its something.
I do want to share something that might help others in deciding which one to get. The Smokin-It smokers all look small in the their pictures primarily because they are deep rather than wide (Like the MES). I got the Model #3 because I have a couple of parties in mind and my friends can eat!
With that in mind, attached is a pictures of one of the grills from the Model #3 with some ribs on it. This is one of those packs of three you get from Sam's so if you look closely, you will notice that it is actually a bit longer than individual racks are. The Model #3 comes with 4 grills but can fit 5. I bought an extra one so I will be able to fit 10 uncut racks in there comfortably.
As to the build quality of this thing, there isn't much I can say that hasn't been said but let me make an analogy. I was going to use cars, but I'll keep it in the kitchen. When you go to Target and buy a Sunbeam mixer (MES) so you can make pancakes on Sundays or brownies for the occational bake sale, you know exactly what you are getting, and there are no surprises two years down the line when you have to get a new one. But when you pony up and buy the KitchenAid mixer, and you pick it up and feel the heft and build quality, you get it home and expect to pass it on to your kids years later. That is how the Smokin-It smoker feels. It is going to last for years.