AT Commander's


TC SA MOA
(Timeless Collection Super-Articulated Man of Action)

Lots of folks have done a headswap of a TC, ME, vintage, or Elite type of head onto a Hasbro CC or SA body. There have been different approaches, from grinding down the neckpost and installing a metal washer in the neck of the head and fitting the washer over the post, to simply adding a length of flexible tubing over the neckpost and shoving the TC head on. My approach began with a washer-type of angle, followed by constructing a thick sheet plastic alternative. I ruled these out for one reason or another. I ended up doing the easiest approach of all - I wrapped the neckpost with a bunch of packing tape until it was a really, really tight pressure fit. This permitted me to make the alteration without actually altering anything (everything can be restored as original in no time flat). It also slightly expanded the diameter of the headsculpt - to decrease the size of the diameter mismatch (a fortuitous event). Here are some pics of how it came out.


Here's the Timeless Man of Action showing off the neck diameter mismatch. Notice the ledge between his headsculpt and the neck diameter? Sheesh! That ledge is HUGE! The TC neck diameter is a LOT smaller than the SA neck! Since I used the "expand the diameter of the post with tape and cram the head on" approach, the head won't turn at all at the neck/head location. Fortunately, the SA body's neckpost turns on its own, thus this Joe still has full mobility in his neck, even if the head won't rotate on the neckpost itself (one cool aspect of the Hasbro SA bodies!). This was probably the easiest solution to implement. I didn't go over step by step how-to stuff here, because it was sooooo easy and practically self-explanatory. Wrap the neckpost with tape and pop the noggin on. Easy!




At right is the MOA Joe in his adventuring outfit. The Aussie ODF outfit is the perfect Adventure Team getup for this guy. The ODF comes with everything, including a hat that'll fit the fuzzhead, the web belt, canteen, and backpack. All I had to do was add a knock-off revolver and a pair of 21C brown boots to fit the SA baby-feet, and he was ready for adventuring! If this CC ODF set had come with an AT logo on the chest or pocket it would've been pretty near perfect!


At left is another pic of TCMOA Joe. I like the SA bodies because they are so much more realistic than the originals. They'll never replace vintage in the True Collector's heart, but they're undeniably cool! Now MOA Joe can sit, kneel, and do all sorts of other things that a vintage-style body simply can't do! If we need to make this guy a military ODF figure all we've got to do is remove the revolver and swap on black boots. Until then, he's wearing the AT 2004 standard issue as far as we're concerned here at AT Commander's Adventure Team Headquarters!








I wasn't sure how much I'd like this swap... I really like having a TC fuzzhead on the SA body. It's a great update to the classic AT noggin. One thing not apparent in the pics is the neck length. The SA heads seem to have a bit of neck on them that the TCs don't have. Thus, this swap makes Joe look like he has a shorter neck. In some outfits it's pretty apparent. Joe did a Fashion Show yesterday and we tried a zillion different uniforms, shirts, jackets, and sweaters trying to find the least objectionable combination. The ODF and White Tiger outfits were the best and didn't highlight Mr. NoNeck's "little problem." In some outfits, the neck ledge is annoyingly visible, but in others it's not noticeable at all. This outfit was the best compromise. I bet the combat photographer outfit would be fine, too. The kids don't seem to see the ledge, or if they've noticed it they don't care. Joe has already been picked up and carried by his head and swung around the room in several Xena flips, and the head has stayed on tight. This could change as the tape ages and shrinks, but if it becomes an issue, I'll just remove the tape and renew it with fresh tape! This was a straightforward headswap and one that resulted in a Joe with a lot more play value than the original TC had and also looks a lot more like a traditional Joe than any of the SA releases.

If you're looking for a quick and easy project, this headswap might fit the bill. If you don't do as I did and try several ill-fated approaches before settling on a single solution, this entire headswap ought to take you about a minute. Maybe two minutes if you're slow finding the packing tape!


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- ATC


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