I have searched for tutorials and forum discussions on this topic but with no luck.

If I buy a 3D head model like this one: http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/272780 It probably won't be exactly this head as it is a bit pricey - but as an example! Is it possible to transfer this head onto a poser/DAZ figure in Poser (for export to Vue Infinite)?

If this is possible, will hair props still work on the new head?

Will body face morphs still work?

Any advice / suggestions of tutorials etc?

Grateful as ever

J

Here is an old tutorial concerning the Frankensteining technique you mentioned.

http://www.ebonshire.net/tut-posa/poptop1.php

There is one other but I would need to find that link again; the principal is the same.  IIRC, original body morphs will still work.  However, those original morphs will not translate to the new head.  You would need either a morph package for the head or generate your own target morphs through a 3rd party model program. 

If I buy a 3D head model like this one: http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/272780 It probably won't be exactly this head as it is a bit pricey - but as an example! Is it possible to transfer this head onto a poser/DAZ figure in Poser (for export to Vue Infinite)?

If this is possible, will hair props still work on the new head?

NO

Will body face morphs still work?

NO

Any advice / suggestions of tutorials etc?

it just dont work that way ...
and afik it will never work due to diffrences in the two heads
So thats why no tuts etc etc are found...

It is possible in theory, and people have successfully transferred heads between different figures, but it requires some expertise in modelling and rigging. If you have to ask the question, then it's probably way above your abilities at the present. I don't mean to sound like a wet blanket, but there is no point in you spending money on something you will not be able to use.

One of the major problems to be overcome in attaching a new head is in getting it to weld to the rest of the figure. Actors can only be welded if the vertices in one match up exactly with the vertices in another. This usually means modelling a new neck that matches the polygons in the chest at one end, and those in the head at the other end. In the case of the head you point out, parts of the neck would need to be cut out. Then there also the problem of texture maps, the textures in the current figure would not map correctly into the new head.

Whilst it is possible, at a practical level I would say forget it. By the time you have the skills to do this you would probably be able to model your own head.

Q: will hair props still work on the new head?

A: With a little tweaking prop hair can be made to work on most heads.

Q: Will body face morphs still work?

A: The body will be unchanged so morphs will still work on it, but you would have to construct new morphs for the head (very big job)and neck.

Perhaps we should turn the question around and ask what is it you want? An elf figure with pointed ears? I have Pointed ear morphs for V4 and Jessi that you can have for free if you want. See the above graphic for the V4.2 version, the ears are a separate morph, so can be used with other faces. Just IM me with an email address I can send them to you. And there are lots of face and body morphs available for the various figures, some of them for free.

Also it is not hard (compared to Frankensteining) to make your own elf ears using magnets.

Thanks very much for that Les. I have emailed  you. You're right I definitely don't have the skill or know how by the sound of things to get involved in the Frankenstein approach.

Thanks again

John

Also note that the control mesh is 2200 polys. You would probably need some sort of subdivision scheme to get it to look like the preview.