» Wed May 11, 2011 7:58 pm * Fourteen mannequins of all humanoid races, each six
* Fourteen mannequins total each for Argonians and Khajits
* Poses with sneak, sword and shield raised, multiple casting objects, wear-all
A while back I complained about the fact that Morrowind has had skin-toned mannequins for all races and both sixes via a mod for years, and Fallout 3 just got them recently, too--but Oblivion only had wooden and marble mannequins. It seemed unfair. I mean, here you are, a moderately wealthy inhabitant of a land with an enormous clutch of weapons and armor bravely liberated from its former owners, and you can't display them on a reasonable facsimile of your race/six? Magic can send you hurtling across the land, and turn you invisible, but it can't do this little thing? When there was no response, I decided to actually do a mod, myself, instead of simply taking part in other people's mods, which I've done for years.
And this is the result. Skin-toned Mannequins will be a hive-off of the original, superb Reznod's Mannequins. Instead of 64 wooden and marble, male and female mannequins, you'll get 14 mannequins of each six for each humanoid race (including Orcs). For Khajits and Argonians, you will find 14 mannequins, total--but I innovated just a bit, so that when you purchase any three mannequins in succession of these, you'll see three different faces and hair styles. I could do that, because it's much easier to come up with attractive Khajit or Argonian features, versus humanoid ones.
These mannequins will do all that Reznod's mannequins did, and can be purchased in the same locations. Two basic versions of the mod will be offered:
SkinMannequinVan: This requires only CM Partners to run. It uses that mod as a master, because Reznod set up the mannequins as NPCs.
SkinMannequinCOBL: This version requires both CM Partners and COBL Races--not COBL Balanced Races, mind. COBL Races is used for cosmetic effect, with nicer hair and some subtler eye effects. That's all.
I've linked to a few screens, that might look odd, due to my original widescreen display. Future screens will not. These are just a brief sampling:
http://img15.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=screenshot5zd.png
There will also be two versions of the Vanilla and COBL versions. One of these will put the mannequins in a state of unconsciousness. This is because, as Reznod discovered after issuing his original release, NPCs, even NPC mannequins, will 1) sometimes make comments when they first encounter you, and 2) will swivel their upper torsos, and move their heads, to follow you. The unconscious version will have closed eyes. If you give your mannequins helments, you'll never notice.
The conscious version has opened eyes, and is suitable for non-helmeted mannequins. They do occasionally make bland, basic comments. I've found no way to turn that off. On a 1-10 irritant scale, I give that a 1. As for the swiveling part, I like it. To me, it says that there's a bit of magic inside these mannequins I've purchased. That's they've got the tiniest bit of sentience, and are following the doings of the person who owns them. So I use the eyes-wide-open version, comments, swivels, and all.
It's really up to you.
Note, since this uses the same holding cell that Reznod employed, you cannot use both his mod, and this. I had considered keeping some marble and wooden mannequins, but that would have meant removing some of each of the races. I'm also inclined to think that stylistically, the marble-and-wood types don't go together well with the race types. But maybe that's just me.
This mod is finished. Once it has been thoroughly beta-tested, which it's undergoing now (no requests, please), it will be provided on TES Nexus and PES. I will almost certainly *not* be doing any updates. My real interests in modding are building characters through dialog: I'm a writer. I've some very elaborate dialog and items written up for a merchant, and no knowledge how to mod it, so that will be my next task. But this will be issued, and that's that. Hopefully, it will be something you can use; and in any case, it's my way of giving back something to the modding community that has done so much to make a competent game into a fantastic one, and served all our needs for so many years. If you want to take this and use my mannequins as part of a mod of your own, I'll only ask that you let me know, and give me credit.
And I'd personally like to extend thanks to LHammonds, Showler, and Zornac, for helpful suggestions. And of course, Reznod.
If you have any questions or concerns, have at it.
I've used CM Partners for some time, and have never made use of the option to "hire" a member of the Fighters' Guild or anyone else to join me. 
