I think you can unparent an object using the Object menu, Change Parent and choose Universe. I've had characters pick up items and then set them down using Parent and then changing the Parent using Object menu, Change Parent. Not sure about visibility. One may animate materials and so change the Transparency ... Not sure if that would work with Texture Mapped figures/objects. For the last use Edit, Memorize All and then Restore All at the keyframe in question. Using the Keyframe Editor you can move whole blocks of keyframes. Always save before you attempt to play with the Keyframe Editor. It's pretty powerful and you can really mess things up with it ... Best Wishes, Rance