# Mr Mannequins Tools: a Blender add-on built around Unreal's Manny and Quinn > The add-on started as an import and export path for Unreal Engine's mannequin characters and turned into a general character toolkit for Blender, and the interesting wrinkle is that the author merged the separately maintained add-ons back into a single package, which is both a cleanup and a migration. **Jim-Kroovy/mr_mannequins_tools** — Install the latest release for intuitive Blender imports and easy Unreal exports! - Repository: https://github.com/Jim-Kroovy/mr_mannequins_tools - Stars: 555 · Forks: 64 - Language: Python - License: not declared - Published: 2026-10-22 · Updated: 2026-10-22 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/jim-kroovy-mr-mannequins-tools ## A Blender add-on whose name names two Unreal characters Mr Mannequins Tools is a free Blender add-on built to make working with Unreal Engine's Manny and Quinn fast and painless. The primary language is Python, the code is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later, and the author is Jim Kroovy. The name is more literal than it sounds. Manny and Quinn are the two humanoid mannequins Unreal ships as reference characters, and they come with a rig and a set of proportions that differ from Blender's own defaults. A tool that imports them, keeps their structure intact, and exports them back without the result coming apart in Unreal is genuinely useful, because a round trip through Blender otherwise quietly changes the skeleton, the naming and the socket attachments. The stated goal is the shortest description of the project: import your assets into Blender, edit them quickly and easily, then export them directly back without breaking anything. The audience is a technical artist or animator who moves characters between Blender and Unreal, and who has hit the specific friction of that round trip. This is not a general purpose Blender to Unreal pipeline manager, and it is not useful to someone who has never opened a Unreal mannequin. ## The scope outgrew the name, and the directories show it The readme says the add-on has grown far beyond its original purpose and now includes a wide set of tools for working with characters in Blender, and the list is specific enough to be worth reading as the actual feature set. There is fast, high-quality character rigging, and support for custom character compatibility. There is armature, mesh and animation retargeting. There is mesh orientation for socket attachments, which is the part that decides whether a mesh lines up with a bone in Unreal. There is weighting and shape keys. There are mannequin-themed templates for prototyping, and a set of general Blender to Unreal workflow utilities. The repository layout matches that list almost item for item, and it is the clearest description of the codebase available. At the top level there is a blender_manifest.toml, an __init__.py and a GNU-GPL-3.0.txt, and then one directory per pipeline stage: exporting, importing, orientation, retargeting, rigging, shaping, skinning, templates and utilities. There is an importing directory and an exporting directory, which are the two ends of the round trip, and separate directories for orientation, retargeting, rigging, shaping, skinning and templates, plus a utilities directory. A blender_manifest.toml at the root and an __init__.py at the root are what the modern Blender add-on and extension format expects, and the GNU-GPL-3.0.txt file is the licence text shipped alongside the code. So the codebase is organised by stage of the pipeline rather than by menu, which is the right structure for a tool whose value is a sequence of operations rather than a set of buttons. ## Why five separate add-ons were merged into one package The update 5.0 section is the most useful part of the readme for anyone who has used an earlier version, because it describes a migration. As of Mr Mannequins Tools 5.0, the previously separate add-ons have been merged back into one package. The stated reason is plain: maintaining and updating everything separately was, quite frankly, annoying. And the readme addresses the obvious question directly, telling anyone looking for one of the old standalone add-ons where it went. The author puts it plainly: maintaining and updating everything separately was, quite frankly, annoying. The author is also blunt about the consequences. The update is described as huge, and the readme warns that there will be bugs, with the promise to fix them as quickly as possible. For a user this is a trade. A single package means one install, one update and one set of preferences, which is a genuine improvement over juggling several add-ons that have to stay compatible with each other. It also means that a user with existing customisations has to move them, and that the first run of 5.0 is the point at which you find out whether the merge broke something for your particular setup. The author is upfront about both sides, which is a good sign, but it does mean 5.0 should be treated as a new beginning rather than a drop in upgrade. ## Licensing: GPL for the code, Epic's terms for the assets The licensing section is short and has two halves that should not be run together. The Python source code included with Mr Mannequins Tools is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later, in accordance with Blender's licensing requirements for add-ons using the Blender Python API. That last clause is the reason, and it is a real constraint rather than a preference: add-ons that use the Blender Python API are expected to be GPL, and the licence file is in the repository as GNU-GPL-3.0.txt. Separately, any Epic Games or Unreal Engine assets used or referenced by the tools remain the property of their respective owners and are subject to Epic Games' applicable licence terms. So the code is free software and the Unreal content is not, and a team shipping a game has to keep those two things apart. The third clause is about authorship. Mr Mannequins Tools, its original rigging, tools and other original content are created by Jim Kroovy, and credit is always appreciated. One thing to note for an adopter: the licence field in the repository metadata is shown as unknown, while the readme and the licence file in the tree both say GPL-3.0-or-later. The authoritative statement is in the readme and in the text of the licence file, and a company doing a licence review should read those rather than the metadata field. ## Where the add-on is distributed, and what support means The support section is written by someone who is also a freelancer, and it sets expectations clearly. Mr Mannequins Tools is a free project, and the readme asks people not to expect dedicated one to one technical help unless they are supporting the author on Patreon. The reason given is practical: free support has to fit around work commitments and around actually developing the thing. Bugs and Blender and Unreal support go to a Discord server called Mr Mannequins Server. The add-on itself is available on Gumroad if you want to donate, and on Superhive, where 10 percent of the proceeds go to Blender. The author also lists a set of freelance services, including Unreal Engine C++ and Blueprints work, control rigs, rigging and animation, Blender Python and custom tools, character modelling, retopology and weighting, multiplayer replication and gameplay systems, and pipeline and workflow troubleshooting. The pattern is a common one for a free tool in a commercial domain. The code is free and the add-on is a portfolio piece, and the paid work is the individual engagement. For a user, that means the tool is genuinely free to install and there is a community channel, but the expectation of hands on help has to be adjusted accordingly. The other commercial point is the version story, which the readme makes explicit by telling users where the old standalone add-ons went. ## Where Mr Mannequins Tools is the wrong tool Four limits, and the first is about the scope of the problem it solves. The add-on is built around the Unreal Engine mannequins. A studio that uses its own character, a metahuman based pipeline or a rig that never touches Manny and Quinn gets very little from the import and export path, and what remains is a general Blender character toolkit that overlaps with what other add-ons and Blender's own tools already do. The custom character compatibility feature widens that a little, but the centre of gravity is fixed. The second is the migration. Version 5.0 merges what used to be separate add-ons into one package, and the author says plainly that it is a large update and that there will be bugs. An existing user with years of customised templates, preferences and scripts has to do that work, and the timing of a large change in a project with a single maintainer is not ideal. The third is the version record, and it is worth checking before you install. The published releases are v1.0 from 2019-12-05, v1.3 from 2020-04-16 and v1.4 from 2021-04-12, while the readme describes version 5.0. The last push to the default branch was on 2026-09-23, so the code is being worked on, but the tagged history stops at 1.4. A user who installs from a release gets something much older than the documentation describes. The fourth is the licensing of the content side. The code is GPL, which is fine, but any Epic Games or Unreal Engine assets the add-on references stay under Epic's terms. A team that assumed the whole toolkit was free to ship in a commercial game would be wrong, and the readme is the place to catch that. ## Maintenance, versioning and what a new user should check The maintenance picture is mixed, and it is a single author project rather than a team one. The repository is not archived and the last push was on 2026-09-23, so the work is current. The published release history is v1.0 in December 2019, v1.3 in April 2020 and v1.4 in April 2021, and the readme describes version 5.0 with the merged add-ons. The gap between the tagged releases and the documented version is the first thing to resolve, because it decides which build you actually get. The repository is small and readable for an add-on of this size: the root holds the manifest, the entry point and the licence text, and the code is split by pipeline stage into importing, exporting, orientation, retargeting, rigging, shaping, skinning, templates and utilities. There is a .github directory, so the usual contribution and issue machinery is there, and a Makefile is absent, which fits a Blender add-on that is built and shipped through the Blender tooling rather than through a language specific build. For a new user, the sensible order is short. Install the current package from the repository rather than an old tag, read the licensing section, join the Discord server before you need it, and test the round trip on one character with a simple skeleton before you trust it with a production asset. The final judgement is narrow. If you work with Unreal's mannequin characters in Blender, this is the tool for the job and it is free. If you do not, it is a well documented piece of work in a niche it does not address, and the licensing section tells you exactly where its free part ends. ## Conclusion Mr Mannequins Tools is the right tool for a technical artist who works with Unreal's Manny and Quinn mannequins in Blender and wants the import, rigging, retargeting and export steps to behave consistently, and the merged 5.0 package is a good reason to start fresh rather than to keep several add-ons side by side. It is the wrong tool if you do not use the Unreal mannequins, and it is the wrong tool if you need Unreal Engine assets that the add-on only references. Before adopting, read the licensing section carefully, because the code is GPL while the Epic assets stay under Epic's terms, and check which version you actually install, since the published tags stop well below the version the readme describes. ## FAQ ### What is Mr Mannequins Tools? It is a free Blender add-on for working with Unreal Engine's Manny and Quinn characters, covering import and export, character rigging, custom character compatibility, armature, mesh and animation retargeting, mesh orientation for socket attachments, weighting, shape keys and templates. The stated goal is to import assets into Blender, edit them, and export them back without breaking anything. ### What changed in version 5.0 of Mr Mannequins Tools? The previously separate add-ons have been merged back into one package, because maintaining and updating them individually was awkward. The readme warns that the update is large and that there will be bugs, and tells users looking for an old standalone add-on that it is now inside the single package. ### How is Mr Mannequins Tools licensed? The Python source is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later, in accordance with Blender's licensing requirements for add-ons using the Blender Python API. Any Epic Games or Unreal Engine assets used or referenced remain the property of their owners and are subject to Epic Games' applicable licence terms, while the original rigging and tools are created by Jim Kroovy. ### Where can I get Mr Mannequins Tools and what support is offered? The add-on is available on Gumroad if you want to donate and on Superhive, where 10 percent of the proceeds go to Blender. It is a free project, so one to one technical help is not expected unless you support the author on Patreon, and bugs plus Blender and Unreal support are handled on the Mr Mannequins Discord server. ## Sources - [Issues](https://github.com/Jim-Kroovy/mr_mannequins_tools/issues) - [Jim-Kroovy/mr_mannequins_tools on GitHub](https://github.com/Jim-Kroovy/mr_mannequins_tools) - [README](https://github.com/Jim-Kroovy/mr_mannequins_tools/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/Jim-Kroovy/mr_mannequins_tools/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/jim-kroovy-mr-mannequins-tools