DC Mattel Retro-Action conversion help

[Ambushbug31]

For those of you that have successfully swapped over the head/costume/hands from the Mattel body, do you recommend using the Type S (retro-body) or Type S Deluxe (muscular-body)?
Thank you!

[EMCE Hammer]

I think there's enough stretch to do whatever you want, but depending on the suit some of the logos crack if you look at them sideways, especially Superman.

[TRDouble]

I have not used the Type S Deluxe body, but I just swapped the Mattel Aquaman costume over to a Type S and it is a snug fit. I really had to pull it up because it leaves room in the crotch area; I think the costume is a little small for the Type S body. But fudging around with it, you can make it work nicely. So I don't know how it would have fit on a Type S Deluxe. Oddly enough, Superman's costume fit the Type S perfectly, so it all depends on the figure and the cut of the costume.

The rest will be the same on either body for the head and hands, depending on how you do it. I've only transferred one Mattel head to a Type S and I usually replace the hands with new ones from Classic TV Toys. They still need a little help fitting tightly in the Type S wrist, but the Mattel wrists are so tiny that I never tried to re-use them.

[KingKickass1983]

I wonder if I could attach the mattel retro upper body to a new lower body with ball joint hips... Because I like the mattel upper body.

[rche]

I wonder if I could attach the mattel retro upper body to a new lower body with ball joint hips... Because I like the mattel upper body.

are you meaning new as in when the bandless Mego bodies start showing up?

[KingKickass1983]

are you meaning new as in when the bandless Mego bodies start showing up?

Yeah, or even a JAKKS MMA fighter lower body.

[rche]

only one way to find out

[Makernaut]

My Retro Action swaps were way back when Doc Mego swivel arm bodies (were those actually Cast-A-Way? or a joint venture) were as good as it got and all of those turned out aces, in my book.

[Ambushbug31]

Thank you for the advice!
I was unsuccessful in “carefully” removing Black Adam’s head from the retro-action body…it sheared right off. After some swearing, I ultimately attached the head to an extra 2021 mego body I had. I wrapped plumbers tape around the peg on the top of the body until Black Adam’s head fit on snugly. It looks fine on my bookshelf and does not fall over anymore.

[TheVintageToyKid]

I transferred a Mattel Black Adam to a CTVT body, but this as a few years ago when I was first starting to get back into Mego collecting. I am happy with him, as he now has a more sturdy body but I do recall the neck plug broke off as I tried to remove it. I had to modify the head by using a Type S neck plug and some Gorilla Glue. It worked, but the Black Adam head in general does appear a bit small when seeing him alongside my other figures.

[rche]

Heads on the Mattel figures were a bit tricky to remove. There is a plate in the neck plug that tends to tear things up unless you separate the body halves a bit while taking the head off. There was a general disdain for the buck on those figures and many customizers took to crushing the upper torso with a pair of pliers to crack the seam and release the heads. Personally, I always liked the different upper torso and felt that the weak link of the pelvis was fixable if swapped with something more substantial and re-banded onto the upper torso.

[PNGwynne]

I cracked 'em right open as you suggest to get at the heads.

[sprytel]

Paul at Laser Mego has an adapter to use the new Mego heads on a Type S body. So if you want the extra articulation, it probably would work similarly to what you ended up doing with the new Mego body.

And yeah... after a few failures myself (despite being extra careful), I would now go with the "crack 'em open" approach on any future Mattel conversions. Male bodies that is. The Mattel female bodies are great and you would be a monster to crack them open.

[Makernaut]

As others have suggested, I went with the "crack 'em open" method for the swaps I did. If I remember right, you can boil and pop the Mattel hands and use them, too. Seems like I did at least half a dozen body swaps with no problem or waste (besides the decided upon crushed Mattel body).