There is probably no heatsink at all, most likely just a plastic spacer. You'd have to get creative and tinker something together 
Probably has a plastic pill and a simple resistor circuit like most cheapies in that size.
Would it really need a heatsink with a mildly driven xre or xpg? Possibly even driven at it’s current output of 510ma? I guess I should point out that most of my lights are toys that get played with a bit but rarely see over 30 seconds use at one time. I might turn it on several times each session but never let them stay on a long time. The only lights that see over that are my edc lights, my d25c clicky on imr and my A3 on 10440. These lights get used every day and every night sometimes for a couple of minutes at a time and they get warm for sure. This light would just be a toy. If I have to keep it as is so be it, no regrets. However if one of you guys think you could ramp it up a little fairly cheaply?
For 510mah you could use an aluminum or copper fender washer (if you could find one) some led boards are made of a decent grade of copper and may be good enough for runtimes of a minute or so. (Shrug)
TIR is a style of light reflector that uses all lens to make the beam pattern. They come in both floods and throwy depending on the angle you pick. Surefire, Energizer, Peak, Coast and a few other flashlight companies use them.
I was just wondering because my ITP A3 runs about 50 minutes on high with a AAA and an xpg r5. Though maybe I could expect similar results out of this.
OK, I sacrificed one of my mini C8s because I wanted to know how it looks on the inside. Couldn't get it apart without breaking the lens, but hey, that's rock'n'roll.
The "pill" is a plastic cylinder with a circuit board on top that holds the led and one on the bottom for battery contact. If you'd like to see pictures, just say a word.
The good news is: A 17mm driver fits inside the head! And the reflector sits nicely on top of an XR-E...
Sorry you broke your light but yes I would love to see your pics! A 17mm driver and xre compatible? SWEET!! Things are looking up for my baby c8. What amp driver can I push with a AAA Battery or better yet a 10440?
http://www.teledynelighting.com/products/optics/tirlens.asp
flood/throw depends on the lens construction and emitter. the one I used was from DX angle light - quite throwy with XP-E, but great mix of flood/throw with XM-L
I do agree on the head size. I haven’t seen a AAA light w/ such a big head, so it has potential.
I suggest going for a reflector - there are quite a few small reflectors available - gluing in the TIR screwed up the ‘internal reflective’ properties a bit.
measure your lens and check Kaidomain, I’m pretty sure they have an inexpensive coated glass lens that will fit (though it will be thicker and stick out just a bit).
This is assuming that I will break mine getting it out right? Lol. I am sure you are right and that I will. Steve did his. He said that the stock reflector set nicely on an XRE which has me stoked! A 17mm driver also will fit in the head. I work in a plumbing supply so I have easy access to copper caps and such so maybe fabbing a good pill won’t be that hard? Good to know that KD has small lenses though. Thanks.
Will take pictures as soon as I have a bit of natural light in my room.
Theoretically, you should be able to push everything out from the back. Try to put the head lens down on a table and push a metal rod onto the driver board and hope that you don't need so much pressure that the reflector breaks. If that fails, don't try to wedge the lens out from the edge, you'll only scratch the anodization. Just poke a hole in the middle and pull it out with the corkscrew from a swiss army knife.
To repair it, you could cut out some plastic from a CD case or something else and sand it round until it press-fits.
I just tried putting the reflector on top of an XR-E in another flashlight and saw that the beam is crap... The led doesn't reach far enough inside the reflector. If you want to use the stock reflector, you'd have to remove the bottom of it.
Or rather, when did they start knurling plastic?
Like I promised (click to enlarge):
i didn’t break mine. I put a dollop of hot glue on it and after it hardened I grabbed that with pliers and yanked it out. Might as well use a decent lens though…they’re only a couple bucks.
1/2” copper cap is almost perfect. I have a piece of rod I put inside and then I tap the cap with a hammer to flatten it (they’re a little domed). The cap might be a little long but if you have a grinder that’s an easy fix.
1/2” caps will also take a 17mm driver, but you have to open them up just a bit (I usually trim the driver a little too, since that’s easier).
Awesome pics Steve! Are you going to put a different driver/emitter back in yours? I am assuming that the little plastic cylinder/pill just presses into the head?
Yeah, that plastic piece is just pushed inside the head.
I'm not enirely sure what to do with it. I have a spare 17mm boost driver flying around, and the idea with the copper cap and TIR optic sounds tempting
if you try it, only put adhesive around the lip - anything that touches the sides of the tir will effect the beam - even clear hot glue 
Probably the whole bottom lip right? So that it would set flat on the star?
if I remember correctly, even more than that, because there is a neck in the bottom of the reflector that the original LED sticks up into
if you have calipers to measure it with, I’m sure you can find an aluminum one that is FAR superior
I think so. And for an XR-E you'd also have to drill out the hole in the reflector to accommodate the led.
Is the TIR necessary? I would rather get a standard lens from kd and just use regular optics unless it would be easier with a TIR and I could still get throw and not flood out of it. Sorry but I know nothing about TIR optics.