Getting the stage I'd built earlier on ready, I decided it'd be best to glue some non-slip mats to the bottom of it just to reduce the chances of it moving while filming, even though it'll be clamped down. I'd rather over-prepare than under prepare. Also, it turns out the rig clamp fits just nicely onto it and seems to work quite well, although I'm worried the cheap metal ball joints are going to give way after a while, but we will see. It seems to be doing the job for now.

And here are two of the puppets here for a size comparison. I'm pretty excited about animating 'Ratman' as he feels nice and solid (touch wood), and I've always wanted to have a go at doing a tail swooshing around. Not only that, but a good experiment in fur also.