Drop-in resolution
Seiko NH38 (TMI NH38A) vs Seiko NH72 (TMI NH72A): do they swap?
Whether the Seiko NH38 (TMI NH38A) and Seiko NH72 (TMI NH72A) share a case, and what changes if you move between them.
Close in diameter, not a drop-in. The Seiko NH38 (TMI NH38A) (27.40 mm x 5.32 mm) and Seiko NH72 (TMI NH72A) (27.40 mm x 5.32 mm) are near in size but differ in height, dial feet or layout, so moving between them means a new dial, hands and often a case adjustment.
The Seiko NH38 (TMI NH38A) is the open-heart, no-date member of the NH3x family, in skeleton-dial mod watches. The Seiko NH72 (TMI NH72A) is the hacking, hand-winding skeleton member of the NH3x family.
They differ in calendar layout (centre seconds, open heart, no date vs full skeleton, no date, hacking). The open-heart, no-date member of the NH3x family at 27.40 mm x 5.32 mm, sharing the NH35 footprint and stem. It drops into an NH35 case but needs a dial with an open-heart aperture and no date window.
Matching diameter and height is necessary but not sufficient. A donor is only a true drop-in when the dial-foot positions, hand-hole sizes, stem length and calendar layout also match. Two movements can share a case and still need a new dial, re-broached hands or a cut-to-length stem.