Classic Joe Heads for Open Source Joe

In an effort to keep our favorite movable fighting man and his European look alikes available and in our toyboxes and display shelfs, here are several version of his likeness for many popular collectible figures. If your version is not there, it probably means that I don't have a reliable way to make the model work. For example 1/12 scale figures use a lot of different neck pegs so it is hard (expensive) to get enough of them to test out how well a head will work with the various bodies. If you do have reliable designs, I will be glad to add them into the listing.

Print Orientation

These can be printed on FDM Printers with supports but they were designed with resin printing in mind. Orient the heads so the head is away from the build plate and the neck hole facing the build plate. DO NOT TILT THE MODELS. There are one or more holes in the top of the head to relieve pressure and drain resin when the print finishes. This also allow you to use light or medium supports that are auto generated with 3.5 - 5mm spacing, and most of the contact points are inside the head or under the facial features and easy to ignore or fill.

Resin Choice

The cheapest resin is often too brittle for the flexibility needed to mount the headfs. Use a resin that says "Tough", "ABS Like", or "Flexible" in it's name. The heads are usually 2mm thick, and I have dropped figures with these heads repeatedly on the concrete floor at Kentuckiana GI Joe show without breaking them. My preferred resin is Anycubic ABS Like Pro 2 but I plan to start making my action figure parts with Resione's TH-BJD and CL-TH to try to mix preferred colors.

How Do I Paint This

My resin printer is old enough that it still leaves some visible lines, so I put some filler in the drain holes and sand the head down with 500 grit sand paper. At that point, any spray primer will work well enough, but I use a sandable filler primer spray can if there are small lines or scratches to fill in. For skin tone, I prefer "Barbarian Flesh" from the Army Painter because it matches "close enough" to the peachy-orange skin tone (it comes in a spray can or dropper bottle) and Raw Sienna from Deco Art's Americana line for a brown skin tone that matches the Elite Brigade African American body from Cotswold Collectibles (http://gijoeelite.com). But do one is stopping you from using green, silver, purple or dark gray. From there the eyes, hair, and lips are your choice!

I Can't Get This Head On!

If you didn't use a flexible material for your print, you are likely to run intro issues getting the head to fit and move comfortable.

The Mego heads will be easiest because the head is just a little loose so add something to the shaft (a little resin, a rubber band, your brother's chewing gum) so it does not rattle so loosely, and remember to paint it next time.

The 96 and 64 versions should be heated with a hair dryer or heat gun on low until the plastic softens enough to move when you touch it. ABS and Tough resin will not easily melt, and can deform 10-25% when heated up to around 160 Fahrenheit/ 70 Celsius, but remember that means the material is chemically active so treat it as a respirator moment.

The 10 0 and 10 5 version may also need to be heated up to accept the neg peg, but they will seldom need that much heat. The more likely issue is that the head moves too loosely on the ball. In that case, put a drop of gap filling super glue or drip a small amount of hot glue into the socket, then e move the peg around so a few minutes mas the glue sets. If the peg sticks after you stopped moving and let it set (some super glues will need to sit overnight to cure) the peg will usually break free with a little force. If not, go to eBay or Monkey Depot to get a replacement peg and do the same process except coat the peg with a very thing layer of petroleum jelly or oil before you stick it on top of the glue in the socket.

How Do I Get That Glorious Fuzzy Hair?

The process for adding that type of hair is called "Flocking". The hardest part is finding the right colors and size of hair, and the second hardest part is making it look "Great!" ("Good Enough!" is surprisingly easy!).

For "Good Enough!", watch some videos about flocking with a shaker bottle. Evan and Katelyn, Toy Soldier Outpost, and Skunkwork Studios have good videos with the basic information about getting small fibers and making the stick to things.

For "Great!" you should look for videos about "Static Flocking" or "Electrostatic flocking" and even "Static Grass Applicator". The equipment is not hard to get or overly expensive, and if you think you will flock more than 5 heads in your life time, it will be worth while to buy or make the equipment needed.