I am working a bowling pin figure, I want each of the pins to be pose able. Some one suggested instead of have the Pin 1 parented to the body I should add a null object to the set and have that pretended to the body and the pin 1 to the null.

With out having to remodel how would I do this?

If I were dfoing it, I would have each pin a smartprop, each using the same geometry file, smartpropped to the lane.

You would have 100% poseability of each pin independantly.

I don't really see a benefit of having them all figged as one figure at all.

Here is how I have the set setup now.
Bowling Alley Lanes with Pins. Pins can be hidden either by unchecking visible or using mat files. Pins as Stand alone figure for doing scenes that can make the pins look like falling down and be moved to the four lanes.

My goal for the pins are to make poses like ball hitting them.

Actually you could build erc into the figure to contol the various ball hits.

what you'd have, would be the lane as the main group, with dummy obj (you could hide a simple cube inside the lane) groups as connector or something.

Then the ball, and all the pins would be parented to the connector.  Your erc for everyhting would just include translation or rotation.

You could even have the lane clearing arm erc controlled as well, but it won't work to clear the pins, you would have to do that animation separately.

Quote - Actually you could build erc into the figure to contol the various ball hits.

what you'd have, would be the lane as the main group, with dummy obj (you could hide a simple cube inside the lane) groups as connector or something.

Then the ball, and all the pins would be parented to the connector.  Your erc for everyhting would just include translation or rotation.

You could even have the lane clearing arm erc controlled as well, but it won't work to clear the pins, you would have to do that animation separately.

Ow now my head hurts!

Let me explain this some, Someone spent an hour explaining to me how ERC works and I still did not understand it.

erc is a complicated set of code that controls orther dials or channels.

If you can't write it or understand it well, the buying easypose underground makes it very easy to create. I think philc has a erc creation utility plugin for poser as well now, but easypose undergound is the grand daddy of erc creation.

I got it figured out. Without out remodeling I spawned props, then added a sphere. When into the hierarchy editor and made the pins a child of the sphere. Then created a new figure, cleared the scene loaded the new figure and made my poser adjustments (turn off bending to the pins and hid out the sphere) then re-saved it. Opened the Cr2 in my text editor and un-hid the trans dials so I can pose them better. 

Bowling animation: this calls for PoserPhysics!

You'd have to set it up the following way:

• figure: bowling lane, with side gutters and lane clearing arm. The body parts would be

• lane: includes the gutters and the back where the pins are collected;

• lowering gear;

• clearing arm;.

The lane clearing animation would consist of first lowering the clearing arm, then moving it backwards, then back forwards, and finally back to its standard position. PoserPhysics will take care of the bowling pins.

• smart props: 10 bowling pins (same geometry file). Smartpropped to the lane .
  The pin lowering animation would consist adjusting the yTran of the pins to the Y position of the lowering gear, lowering the gear while simultaneously lowering the pins, then moving the gear up again..
  Picking up the pins that are still standing after the first throw: lower the gear, then move it up again while simultaneously moving up the pins that are still standing, then animate the clearing arm to clear away the pins that are lying down (use PoserPhysics!), and finally lowering the pins again.
  Animating a throw: let the character throw a ball by animating the swing, let PoserPhysics kick in at the frame where the character lets go of the ball, and PoserPhysics will take care of the rest.