Yes!

However I don't think the heads are too big!

Does the head fit over the shell nicely but seems to fit outside of the die cast rim?

I was also scratching my head on this last week when having the same issue with my pre-int 12'' tom. When I looked at my other Premier kit that still has a original Everplay head I noticed the Everplay heads collar is shorter so it sits more inside the die cast rim!

The remo collars are deeper and appear to not fit but actually fits and works fine.

I hope that is the case for yours also.

Remo collars are just deeper, not sure why...

You are not the first purchaser of Remo pre-international sized heads to be disappointed!

Many European vintage drums are designed conceptually different with regards to the fitting of their heads/shells/castings.

Older Premier bass drums, for example, require the head collar (or flesh hoop) have a lower profile in order that the tensioners align in a perfectly straight direction and close to the shell - otherwise they will angle upward and not thread properly. Also, the pre-international die-cast hoops allow for no leeway in tolerance in order to accept a drum head.

Many of the older German vintage drums such as pre-1960's Trixon manufactured with massive flanged in counter hoops are designed with an entirely different concept than their U.S. counterparts - the heads fit the counter hoop and not the actual drum shell! Quite brilliant: This results in a "tympani like" profile, in which the hoop and head overhang the shell thereby "floating freely on the bearing edges free from any tight head to shell contact! More than a few owners of the earliest Sonor teardop imports have realized that modern Remo replacement heads (among others) shift underneath their somewhat oversized (actually metric dimensioned) flanged inwards tom tom counter hoops and are difficult, if not actually impossible to tension properly.

The vintage European profiles of design which visually drive us mad with desire possess rare qualities indeed!

p.s. - As a side note, a standard 12" Remo or other tom head can be place atop a Premier pre-international shell, held in place, and tensioned using the pre-international die-cast hoop. The outer dimension of the counter hoop rather than the inner channel will meet the standard size head collar. Usually requires slight fidgeting to align, but it works even though negatively detracting from the coveted Euro profile of the original setup. This compromise is seen many times around the worldwide amongst owners of these extraordinary instruments.

I posted this today in my thread but here's a copy of the Remo Pre-Int offerings..

All my heads I ordered for my kit fit perfectly.

yes this is exactly the problem but it just doesn't work for me.

Sorry to hear that Sandwell :(

Which heads did you get?

I ended buying a clear ambassador and the awful Vintage A and both sit oddly in the die cast rims but work.

I will try a standard US 12'' as Buckie suggests above, thought I did and didn't seem like the rods would line up enough to work and didn't want to damage anything :)

I have the 54 kit , Yes I have had issues with the 10 and 12 head hoop being over by 1/8" in diameter. We need to inform Remo that it is more than just my kit so they will fix. They won't take just my word even though I got all these facts listed below. Please respond to remo so they get it right. I purchased an add-on Tom and it even had the original (calf) head hoop that came with the 10. The hoop is 10" with 9/32 thickness which is 9/16 difference in diameter which means the shell is 9 7/16. I used the 9/16 diameter difference to figure out the sizes to the shells. I have an original 16 everplay head that the heads hoop measures 16 14/16" with 9/16 diameter difference the shell is 16" 5/16 just like Remo says but they list the 10 as 3/16th bigger and 12 as 2/16th bigger. My measurements for the 12 hoop is 12 5/16 and shell is 11" 12/16" or 11 3/4. There is a pattern to the shells here... the 10 is 16th over 9 1/2 the 12 is 11 3/4 the 14 is 14 and the 16 is 16th over 16 1/4. All about 2 1/4" difference except the 20 is 20. The 14 snare hoop is 14 9/16 on 14" shell and the Aquarian American Vintage works perfectly. So let's get Remo to do it correctly. Please let Remo know.

This issue has been reported to Remo