I feel that the modern Model Ms made by UNICOMP have noticeably worse "fit and finish" than some of the '80s/'90s (IBM or Lexmark) Model Ms that I own. I think it's quite simply their tool and die wearing; UNICOMP is a small company and I think they have a very limited budget to do things like produce new mold masters. This probably also hits R&D and leads to things like not having NKRO which would otherwise be expected on a keyboard of that price.

I guess what I'm saying is that there are ways in which Model Ms manufactured today are more "reproduction antique" than new keyboards.

All of that said, even the 2010s Model Ms are the sturdiest keyboards I own. Significantly better built than some Cherry switch keyboards at a similar price point (but not manufactured by Cherry). While it's frustrating that you can't more readily disassemble to the board for cleaning, this is basically the norm on "commercial" or "industrial" keyboards, which is more the space the Model M occupies than what we think of as "mechanical keyboards" today. For example, Cherry and PrehKeyTec keyboards at a $400+ price point have the exact same limitations. They're mostly sold to integrators as part of a 5-figure cost system and they're viewed as single units for replacement part purposes.

On the upside, the barrel plate design makes the Model M intrinsically easier to clean of grit and cat hair than many modern mechanical designs, which take much more careful cleaning around the exposed switches.