CC to 21st Century
Hasbro HOF heads will fit on the Sam bodies. Don't see why CC's
wouldn't fit as well.
-- izhevsk@swbell.net
Elite to CC
The problem with putting Elite (Cotswold) heads on CC bodies is that
the Elite heads were designed to fit on vintage joe style necks. I'm
sure you could find some way to secure the Elite head on the CC neck
post but it would look silly because the CC neck is much to wide for
the Elite head. I've tried it.
-- William T. Tracy
I swapped heads with a Cotswold's figure and the origional
HOF body (which has the same mount as the CC body). The
Elite/vintage head mount is larger than the HOF/CC mount. To
get the Elite head to fit on the smaller HOF mount, I wrapped
the HOF mount with a rubber band to increase the diameter and
then friction-fit the Elite head onto the new, larger HOF
mount. If you're gonna play with these, expect the head to
fall off occasionally. If they are just for display they
will work out great.
-- Robert Sorrels
Elite to HOF
I've put an Elite head on a HOF body (which has the same mounting peg
as the CC). The Elite head's mounting hole is huge compared to the
small mounting hole on the CC/HOF heads. To get the Elite head on the
smaller CC/HOF mounting peg, simply get a large rubber band and wrap
it around the mounting peg multiple times until the Elite head
friction-fits onto it. Don't be afraid to try it!
-- Robert Sorrels
Elite to ME
To replace the head of an ME with an Elite Brigade head, heat
the head using a hair dryer, then carefully use brute force to
pull the head off it's mounting peg. If you know about
Cotswold's Elite figures, then you've probably seen the pic of
the headless body. The mounting is the same for vintage,
Elite, and ME figures.
-- Rob Sorrels
HOF to IAM (Improved Action Man)
I found out the hard way that the HOF heads are bigger than
the heads on the Improved Action Man and CC Joes.
-- rebonitz@pacbell.net
The HOF heads don't fit on the Improved Action
Man body, because the neck is too long on the heads and they
look ridiculous.
-- rebonitz@pacbell.net
HOF to 21st Century
You can put a HOF head on a 21st century body.
-- Nick Leonard
HOF to CC
I have transplanted HOF heads to CC bodies and it worked great.
-- Thor Sadler
The one nice thing about the CC neck artic is that you can
swap HOF heads onto the CC bodies! I'm glad Hasbro made the
attachment pegs the same (even if the neck artic is still a
little stiff).
-- Rob Sorrels
Head transplants between HOF and Classic Collection is
compatible by using a hairdryer and heating up the heads and
pulling the head off.
-- Thor Sadler
I bought an extra SAS CC soldier today. Then I went to work. I
got my loose "Rock n' Roll" from a few years ago, and beheaded
the chap. Next I beheaded and stripped the CC SAS. I found
it very easy to switch heads- I didn't even need hot water!
If you can get the inside head groove to thread on the peg in
one spot, then begin to rotate, with force it will go!
-- Blair
The HOF heads will go on CC bodies.
I don't need a hairdryer to get them to go on/ off.
All you have to do
is get the inside groove threaded on the neck peg in one place,
and then twist to thread the whole head on - just rotate. Every
HOF head fits, no problem on a CC body in my experience.
-- Blair
I found out the hard way that the HOF heads are bigger than
the heads on the CC Joes. I managed to put HOFA heads on the
new bodies because the heads are the same size.
-- rebonitz@pacbell.net
The HOF neck is a tad small for the CC body.
Recently, I've started shaving a tiny amount of plastic from
the under side of the CC neck post. This seems to help but
be careful with the exacto knife!
-- Joe Shipley
HOF to Elite
I put a Grunt head on an Elite body. I had to use the X-Acto
knife to trim a bunch away on the inside of the head because
the Elite/vintage mount is much larger. I just kept trimming
and test-fitting. Eventually it looked good.
-- Rob Sorrels
Circle Home has products to
help with HOF head to Elite/Vintage neck conversions.
HOF to HOFA
The HOF heads don't fit on the HOFA nor the improved Action Man
body, because the neck is too long on the heads and they look
ridiculous.
-- rebonitz@pacbell.net
HOF to ME
Circle Home has products to
help with HOF head to Elite/Vintage neck conversions.
HOFA to CC
I was able to modify the hole of a blonde 30th
anniversary head to fit a CC SAS neck mount. I glued
a rubber washer that fit perfectly into the neck.
His neck kind of looks short but I really like the
"classic" Joe face.
-- Raymond
HOFA to IAM
HOFA heads will transfer to Improved Action Man (IAM) body.
-- Thor Sadler
A friend of mine swapped the 30th head onto the AM Snowboarder
body. Now he's got a much better articulated beefy body. Heat
the heads with a hairdryer and carefully pull them off.
-- Rob Sorrels
If you use a Snow board Action man body on the 30th head, you
can have a fully posable GIJOE. Thats what I used to make KB's
Airborne MP fully posesable.
-- Greg
The 30th
Anniversary/Joe Colton/Store exclusive head
(the famous "GI Joe® face" Joe head)
will go on that Snowboard raider body.
Most folks say the dryer works best, I just use controlled force.
-- Blair
I decided to put the Target General head on the improved AM body
I don't have a hair dryer, so I thought to try hot water. that softened
the vintage style head enough to pop off.
I used the same trick on the AM head.
This head was a bit harder to remove, that should have been a warning sign.
I resoaked the vintage style head. It worked! Wow, looks cool!
Then I resoaked the AM head. The hot water just wasn't hot enough!
I remembered someone saying they nuked their AM to soften the
head. After 2 minutes, it was soft.
Then I mounted it on the body. What's that little imperfection? Squeeze
AAAAAAAA! A pustule expands on his face! There was a flaw in the plastic
near the scar, and when the head was smooshed to try and work it on the
peg, it blossomed like a hideous skin cancer, or a piece of spalling
embedding itself in his cheek.
It's horrible, and I still didn't get the head on a body.
-- Steve Harrison
HOFA to SLU
It is very easy to put a HOFA head on an SLU body.
In fact, the SLU's have a smaller "catch" on the neck post which makes
it easier to get the HOFA head on.
-- Joe Shipley
IAM to HOFA
I just could not get the AM head soft enough to fit
on the 30th Joe body. See above.
-- Steve Harrison
IAM to SLU
The IAM and the SLU figures share the same body with different
heads. Along with the molds, the "fish hook" on the head
post is truncated on the SLU, making it
lots easier to get a head on and off.
-- Joe Shipley
ME to ME
To remove the head from an ME, hold the neck twist the head
tip to one side. POP!
-- Andy Cabrera
ME to Elite
The ME head (and vintage) should be very interchangeable with the Elite
body. Run hot water over the head to be removed for about 30 seconds
or so to loosen things up, and then just pull/twist off.
Heat up the head under hot water again before attaching to body.
-- Claude
Get a pair of pliers and take the whole head off - neck ball
and all. The Elite figure heads come off easier than the ME's this way.
The ME's are tightly strung, so it takes a few tries.
-- Scott
Nascar to CC
I found my self a Mark Martin Nascar figure and put the head on a
CC. It's not a great match on the skin tones, but with a high
coller, he'll pass. If you try this, don't cut too much off the
neck; do it little by little. I cut too much.
-- Kevin M. Epling
I put a Mark Martin head on a CC body. The way I did it was to
carefully trim off the bottom of the Martin neck to the same
level as the CC head's. That left a large hole in the base of
the neck. To get that to fit on the smaller CC neck peg, I
wrapped the neck peg with a large rubber band (Sunday newspaper)
and then just friction fit the head over the rubber band.
-- Rob Sorrels
Nascar to Elite
I put a Mark Martin head on an Elite figure and am quite
pleased with the results. The pasty skin color is dead-on.
Just keep trimming the neck a little farther than you would
for a CC.
-- Joe Shipley
SLU to HOFA
HOFA, IAM, and SLU heads are all interchangeable. Installation is same
as HOF/CC modification.
-- Rob Sorrels
SLU to IAM
HOFA, IAM, and SLU heads are all interchangeable. Installation is same
as HOF/CC modification.
-- Rob Sorrels
Star Wars to CC
By the way, you can rip the heads off the Star Wars 12" and
mount them on the CC:Joes. Remember to use the hairdryer to
soften them up first.
-- Thor Sadler
I successfully put a Han Solo head on a new CC body.
I suggest a hobby heat gun for softening the vinyl instead of
a hair dryer. It generates less air and more heat. But be
careful! Don't scorch 'em.
-- Tom Willamson
The 12" Star Wars figures are based on the initial HOF bodies.
But Hasbro made the head mounting pegs the same on the new
Classic Collection (CC) Joes. All you have to do is heat the
head (just a little bit, don't nuke it in the microwave until
it melts) until it's pliable then pull it off with a twisting
motion. Then do the same with the CC Joe's head and just push
them back on to the opposite bodies!
-- Rob Sorrels
Strike Force to Vintage
After releasing the Strike Force figure from his box I inspected
the head/neck connection. I carefully pulled the head off. It took
some effort but the plastic seemed quite sturdy- no breaks. There is
a short plastic pin connected into the neck part of the body by a
ball joint and an arrow-shape on the opposite end to fit into the
small hole on the inside of the head. The recipient of the new head
was a vintage Joe body. In order to get the head to fit on the Joe
neck post I had to cut a circle out from the bottom of the head. The
hobby knife easily cut thru the plastic leaving me with a small
plastic ring and a fuzzhead that easily slipped over the Joe neck post.
The head is a bit loose and doesn't sit all the way down onto the
neck post, but it does sort of click into place and doesn't come off
unless you deliberately pull it.
-- Alex G
Vintage to Vintage
To perform a head transplant, all you'll need is a pair of
needle nose pliers for a damage-free and easy switcheroo.
Hold Joe's torso firmly between your knees. Pull
Joe's head upward as far as you can, then grasp the wire rod
that attaches to the neck rivet with the pliers. Unhook the
head from the wire. You can hook the wire to the edge
of the neck opening to prevent Joe's legs from falling off as
this usually makes him nervous and at this point, he's already
in a state of agitation. Anyhow, do the same with figure #2,
then hook the good head to the good body and there you go!
Actually, the entire figure can be dismantled in this way in
case of a need for major parts exchanges.
-- Larry Ringheim
To remove the head from an vintage Joe, hold the neck twist
the head tip to one side. POP!
Note that it doesn't work on shrunken heads. They weren't
shunk in 1966 I guess a little heat from a blow dryer can't
hurt.
-- Andy Cabrera
USSM (SOTW) to CC
The USSM heads have the mounting peg attached to the head, and
the CC Joes (HOF, too) have the mounting peg atached to the
body.
The mounting
peg is just an extention of the neck that decreases in diameter
where it enters the shoulders. It is easy to replace if you
decide not to try the swap.
To do this swap, cut the mounting peg off the USSM head.
The USSM heads are a soft, rubbery plastic.
This will leave a larger hole than the CC peg so you'll need
to wrap the CC peg with a rubber band until it is big enough
to friction-fit the USSM onto. It won't stand up to hard
play, but for posing and displays it should work out just fine!
-- Rob Sorrels
I have transplanted SOTW heads onto CC joes. Just cut the lower
plug off the neck. Experiment as it takes practice. The heads are
smaller so I use carded Joes. The swap lets you use the smaller
helmets. Some of the heads are too small to use.
-- Wess Daniels
USSM (SOTW) to ME
The only transplants that I have successfully done was SOTW head to a
ME Joe. It works well; the neck is slightly off but that is of no
big consequence
-- Andy Cabrera
Miscellaneous
It's easier to heat a head up (for exchange) with a blow dryer
(this works on classic heads that are hard, too.)
-- Bob S.
Using a HOT hairdryer is the best method for switching heads.
My trials and errors showed me the proper way of doing it.
And it is this:
-
Hold the hot hairdryer to CC's head and
remove when the plastic is soft.
Place the CC head in a basket for your French Revolution
guillotine diorama. ;-)
-
Now heat up the HOF's head. When the plastic is also soft
pull the head off. You may want a flathead screwdriver to
assist with the delicate surgery. While the head is still
warm put it on the CC body.
If you allow the HOF head to cool, it is a pain in the *ss to
get it on the CC body. You will need to heat the head. Be
sure to clamp the head down or otherwise you'll be chasing a
head with your hair blower. ;-) Yes it happened to me. 8-)
-- Thor Sadler
Swapping Hands
Note that the order is "hand model" to "body model".
And don't forget that the ME figures are the same as vintage models.
So information on swapping an ME head or body can be applied
to a vintage Joe, and vice versa.