Swapping neck pieces

The instruction manual that came with my AZO2 describes the "official" process for swapping the neck piece. This process involves heating the vinyl, using pliers to pull the piece out, inserting the piece alone into the body, then seating the head onto the piece through brute force.

This approach differs quite a bit from K-2's method. It seems simpler in that there seems to be less risk of damage to the faceup, but I'm a bit worried that other damage could occur in this rather brute force process.

I'm soon going to have to swap connectors between my 45cm and 48cm girls, so I'm deciding what approach to take with the least risk of damage to my main (and limited edition) girl.

I hate that every company that uses the Obitsu neck connector recommends this method! Parabox does it too, and their video tutorial of it looks so brutal. 😭

I'm not familiar with K-2's method, but I've always just disassembled the connector and put it on that way - it's a bit of a pain, but I do it so infrequently that I don't mind, and it seems like the safest method overall. This link describes how to do it, though they use a DD head.

Are the connectors all that different between Azone 45s and 48s, though? I've swapped heads between a few sizes of Parabox, Angel Philia, and Obitsu bodies, and they all use the same connector. The necks are all the same length, so there's no difference.

EDIT: OH WAIT I FORGOT SOME AZO2S HAVE ROOTED HAIR AND PAINTED EYES! That might explain why they recommend this method, if there's no headcap to take off. If THAT'S the case, I think the method described here probably IS the safest...though if there is a headcap you're free to use whatever one works best for you.

Edited December 26, 2021 by Oculae
sometimes azone heads are like barbie heads and i need to respect that

4 hours ago, Oculae said:

Are the connectors all that different between Azone 45s and 48s, though? I've swapped heads between a few sizes of Parabox, Angel Philia, and Obitsu bodies, and they all use the same connector. The necks are all the same length, so there's no difference.

This is what threw me for a loop!

Azone 45's seem to have a shorter, proprietary neck connector, so moving it up to a regular body leaves me with a head that doesn't seat properly, and any head using a standard neck connector seated on the 45 also doesn't fit properly. Either way, it leaves both with long neck syndrome.

This differs from Parabox where their 40/45 bodies use the standard Obitsu connector made for the 48/50 body. 

I like the concept of disassembling the piece but am worried about how difficult it will be to put it back together. I did this, sans that rounded cap piece, when I was modifying mine to use on a Dollce head, and even without that extra bit, I found it pretty difficult to screw back together.

Edited December 26, 2021 by chef_mai

Did the swap tonight. It was surprisingly easy after I did a few practice runs and IMO is a lot less fussy than K-2's method and carries no risk of breaking or scratching up anything.

The step that's labeled as tricky can be made easier if you get the inner part of the connector in place with your dominant hand, then press with your other hand until the peg exits the neck and juts out, all while you press and screw the outer part with your dominant hand. 

The Azone neck piece is shorter by a cm but otherwise is identical. No way to replace it if it broke besides sawing down the normal one by a bit I guess...

Edited December 29, 2021 by chef_mai