RAH, Modern and 25A part compatibility?

I started customizing a little over a year ago, and just recently finished my first "little" Joe custom. Part of the reason it took me a while to take the plunge was I didn't have any little Joes to work with...but the other part is just plain ignorance...because I don't have buttloads of Joes from childhood or years of being in the hobby, I don't really know how these guys work!

night force cynic's definition of what RAH, modern and 25A are over in sgcapers Blackout thread (quoted below, and hoping he doesn't mind):

- "RAH" is the common term for the customs using parts from the now stale, outdated toolings that made 1982-1994 run of the toyline.

- "Modern" or "new sculpt" are the most common terms for customs using the really proportionally challenged toolings of the 2002-2006 line.

- "25A" or some similar variation are most common nicknames for the repaint-happy, awkwardly articulated, and completely addicting 25A line.

got me thinking about how compatible the parts are across these lines. In general, with Sigmas, I've learned that just about every part you can remove is interchangeable and even the ones with oddball neckpegs can be made to work. So I'm wondering if anyone can offer any insight as to RAH, new sculpt and 25A parts being compatible with each other. I know I've probably seen customs with mixed parts (and definitely with non-Joe parts) but I'm not familiar enough with parts to look at a figure and say "Oh that's new, and that's RAH." And also in this new sculpt category, there are pretty big differences in figures...for example the Spytroops Shipwreck I have on my desk here is nothing like those JvC figures.

Are there any parts that pretty much across the board are interchangeable between lines? Are there parts that are absolutely not? What parts usually have to be modified and how? Are there certain lines that just have no compatibility outside the line? And even if you keep within a line, are they as mix and matchable as Sigmas?

LOL...I realize that's a lot of stuff and it varies from person to person, but gimme what you can!

Depends what you mean by compatibility. Do you mean "can be made to fit together with" or "will look right when combined with"? As far as just fitting together, most legs and arms can be interchanged between styles (with some cutting and sizing), but given the slight scale differences, they often look quite strange. Waist pieces can be swapped between ARAH and new-sculpt figures with little difficulty. Heads can be swapped between ARAH and new-sculpt with some modification to the necks, but, again, may look a bit weird. I've seen ARAH torsos used in otherwise new-sculpt customs (and vice versa) but the scale issue becomes a major problem at that point. 25th sculpts are obviously the wildcard, as they have entirely different construction. Without heavy modification work, you're pretty much limited to being able to swap arms and legs with non-25th figures.

Lower Legs are about the only "Type" of part that could be switched out amongst any and all of the Three 3 3/4" GI Joe body styles.

I've not disected a 25A figure yet, but Arms would be the next logical guess as to most swapability. As with all parts, some minor to major modification would be needed to make the parts work.

Thighs are the next part that have the most compatability...but you need to exclude the 2002 Relaunch T Crotch figures.

Heads follow...with heads you'll need to make major modifications to include the 25A figures...and most other head swaps will require some work on the neck ball when you're moving between body styles.

I'd list The Torso and Crotch as the least compatible...mostly because I think each is so very definitive of the body style. ARAH have a very cylindrical style. JvC is a more V shaped super hero style...with teeny tiny waists and wide broad shoulders...and often extremely short torsos. 25A both parts are really forced to be one single part by the mid chest line and aren't all that easily interchangeable.

ARAH and Newsculpt are essentially the same thing. The only real difference is the plastic rivets on the newer arms. However since they are consistantly classified as their own thing I'll list them seperately.

Heads
ARAH: Fits Newsculpt bodies with little or sometimes no mods, needs to be dremeled to fit 25th neck

Newsculpt: Fits ARAH bodies with little or sometimes no mods, needs to be dremeled to fit 25th neck

25th: Needs some sort of filler piece to fit ARAH and Newsculpt bodies, completely different design

Torso
ARAH: Fits Newsculpt heads, arms, and waists with little or sometimes no mods, fits 25th arms with little or sometimes no mods, 25th heads need major mods, has back screw and seperate waist

Newsculpt: Fits ARAH heads, arms, and waists with little or sometimes no mods, fits 25th arms with little or sometimes no mods, 25th heads need major mods, has back screw and seperate waist

25th: Fits ARAH and Newsculpt heads with neck dremeled off, fits ARAH and Newsculpt arms with little or sometimes no mods, no backscrew, attached waist

Arms
ARAH: Fits Newsculpt and 25th torsos with little or sometimes no mods, riveted solidly together, must be cut or rivet punched to seperate, none have swivel wrists

Newsculpt: Fits ARAH and 25th torsos with little or sometimes no mods, can be popped apart, some have swivel wrists, upper and lowers interchange with some 25th with little or no mods

25th: Fits ARAH and Newsculpt with little or sometimes no mods, can be popped apart, most have swivel wristsm upper and lowers interchange with some Newsculpt

Waist
ARAH: Fits Newsculpt torsos and legs with little or sometimes no mods, fits 25th legs with little or sometimes no mods

Newsculpt: Fits ARAH torsos and legs with little or sometimes no mods, fits 25th legs with little or sometimes no mods

25th: Attached to waist not swappable with older styles, fits ARAH and Newsculpt legs with little or sometimes no mods.

Legs
ARAH: Fits Newsculpt and 25th waists with little or sometimes no mods, uppers and lowers interchangeable with Newsculpt and some

25th, other 25th need mods
Newsculpt: Fits ARAH and 25th waists with little or sometimes no mods, uppers and lowers interchangeable with ARAH and some 25th, other 25th need mods

25th: Fits Newsculpt and ARAH waists with little or sometimes no mods, uppers and lowers interchangeable with some Newsculpt and ARAH

Also note that NOTHING is an absolute fit. There are different sized neck balls and arm sockets throughout every line and some mods may be neccesary no matter what parts you are using.

Hope this helps