diff --git a/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp b/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp
index 8ae4354..6699b9c 100644
--- a/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp
+++ b/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp
@@ -679,12 +679,17 @@ void Object::setProperty(const QString &name, const QString &value)
         variant = value;
     }
 
-    if (!QObject::setProperty(qPrintable(name), variant) && !type.isEmpty())
-        qFatal("Failed to set %s::%s to: %s %s",
-               metaObject()->className(), qPrintable(name), qPrintable(value), qPrintable(type));
+    setProperty(name, variant, !type.isEmpty());
 }
 
-QStringList br::Object::parse(const QString &string, char split)
+void Object::setProperty(const QString &name, const QVariant &value, bool failOnError)
+{
+    if (!QObject::setProperty(qPrintable(name), value) && failOnError)
+        qFatal("Failed to set %s::%s to: %s",
+               metaObject()->className(), qPrintable(name), qPrintable(value.toString()));
+}
+
+QStringList Object::parse(const QString &string, char split)
 {
     return QtUtils::parse(string, split);
 }
@@ -736,19 +741,21 @@ void Object::init(const File &file_)
     }
 
     foreach (QString key, file.localKeys()) {
-        const QString value = file.value(key).toString();
+        const QVariant value = file.value(key);
+        const QString valueString = value.toString();
 
         if (key.startsWith(("_Arg"))) {
-            int argument_number =  key.mid(4).toInt();
-            int target_idx = argument_number + firstAvailablePropertyIdx;
-
-            if (target_idx >= metaObject()->propertyCount()) {
-                qWarning("too many arguments for transform, ignoring %s\n", qPrintable(value));
+            int argumentNumber =  key.mid(4).toInt();
+            int targetIdx = argumentNumber + firstAvailablePropertyIdx;
+            if (targetIdx >= metaObject()->propertyCount()) {
+                qWarning("too many arguments for transform %s, ignoring %s", qPrintable(objectName()), qPrintable(valueString));
                 continue;
             }
-            key = metaObject()->property(target_idx).name();
+            key = metaObject()->property(targetIdx).name();
         }
-        setProperty(key, value);
+
+        if (valueString.isEmpty()) setProperty(key, value);       // Set the property directly
+        else                       setProperty(key, valueString); // Parse the value first
     }
 
     init();
@@ -1083,153 +1090,6 @@ Gallery *Gallery::make(const File &file)
     return gallery;
 }
 
-static TemplateList Downsample(const TemplateList &templates, const Transform *transform)
-{
-    // Return early when no downsampling is required
-    if ((transform->classes == std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) &&
-            (transform->instances == std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) &&
-            (transform->fraction >= 1))
-        return templates;
-
-    const bool atLeast = transform->instances < 0;
-    const int instances = abs(transform->instances);
-
-    QList<int> allLabels = templates.labels<int>();
-    QList<int> uniqueLabels = allLabels.toSet().toList();
-    qSort(uniqueLabels);
-
-    QMap<int,int> counts = templates.labelCounts(instances != std::numeric_limits<int>::max());
-    if ((instances != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) && (transform->classes != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()))
-        foreach (int label, counts.keys())
-            if (counts[label] < instances)
-                counts.remove(label);
-    uniqueLabels = counts.keys();
-    if ((transform->classes != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) && (uniqueLabels.size() < transform->classes))
-        qWarning("Downsample requested %d classes but only %d are available.", transform->classes, uniqueLabels.size());
-
-    Common::seedRNG();
-    QList<int> selectedLabels = uniqueLabels;
-    if (transform->classes < uniqueLabels.size()) {
-        std::random_shuffle(selectedLabels.begin(), selectedLabels.end());
-        selectedLabels = selectedLabels.mid(0, transform->classes);
-    }
-
-    TemplateList downsample;
-    for (int i=0; i<selectedLabels.size(); i++) {
-        const int selectedLabel = selectedLabels[i];
-        QList<int> indices;
-        for (int j=0; j<allLabels.size(); j++)
-            if ((allLabels[j] == selectedLabel) && (!templates.value(j).file.get<bool>("FTE", false)))
-                indices.append(j);
-
-        std::random_shuffle(indices.begin(), indices.end());
-        const int max = atLeast ? indices.size() : std::min(indices.size(), instances);
-        for (int j=0; j<max; j++)
-            downsample.append(templates.value(indices[j]));
-    }
-
-    if (transform->fraction < 1) {
-        std::random_shuffle(downsample.begin(), downsample.end());
-        downsample = downsample.mid(0, downsample.size()*transform->fraction);
-    }
-
-    return downsample;
-}
-
-/*!
- * \ingroup transforms
- * \brief Clones the transform so that it can be applied independently.
- *
- * \em Independent transforms expect single-matrix templates.
- */
-class Independent : public MetaTransform
-{
-    Q_PROPERTY(QList<Transform*> transforms READ get_transforms WRITE set_transforms STORED false)
-    BR_PROPERTY(QList<Transform*>, transforms, QList<Transform*>())
-
-    public:
-        /*!
-         * \brief Independent
-         * \param transform
-         */
-        Independent(Transform *transform)
-    {
-        transform->setParent(this);
-        transforms.append(transform);
-        file = transform->file;
-        trainable = transform->trainable;
-        setObjectName(transforms.first()->objectName());
-    }
-
-private:
-    Transform *clone() const
-    {
-        return new Independent(transforms.first()->clone());
-    }
-
-    static void _train(Transform *transform, const TemplateList *data)
-    {
-        transform->train(*data);
-    }
-
-    void train(const TemplateList &data)
-    {
-        // Don't bother if the transform is untrainable
-        if (!trainable) return;
-
-        QList<TemplateList> templatesList;
-        foreach (const Template &t, data) {
-            if ((templatesList.size() != t.size()) && !templatesList.isEmpty())
-                qWarning("Independent::train template %s of size %d differs from expected size %d.", qPrintable(t.file.name), t.size(), templatesList.size());
-            while (templatesList.size() < t.size())
-                templatesList.append(TemplateList());
-            for (int i=0; i<t.size(); i++)
-                templatesList[i].append(Template(t.file, t[i]));
-        }
-
-        while (transforms.size() < templatesList.size())
-            transforms.append(transforms.first()->clone());
-
-        for (int i=0; i<templatesList.size(); i++)
-            templatesList[i] = Downsample(templatesList[i], transforms[i]);
-
-        QFutureSynchronizer<void> futures;
-        for (int i=0; i<templatesList.size(); i++)
-            futures.addFuture(QtConcurrent::run(_train, transforms[i], &templatesList[i]));
-        futures.waitForFinished();
-    }
-
-    void project(const Template &src, Template &dst) const
-    {
-        dst.file = src.file;
-        QList<Mat> mats;
-        for (int i=0; i<src.size(); i++) {
-            transforms[i%transforms.size()]->project(Template(src.file, src[i]), dst);
-            mats.append(dst);
-            dst.clear();
-        }
-        dst.append(mats);
-    }
-
-    void store(QDataStream &stream) const
-    {
-        const int size = transforms.size();
-        stream << size;
-        for (int i=0; i<size; i++)
-            transforms[i]->store(stream);
-    }
-
-    void load(QDataStream &stream)
-    {
-        int size;
-        stream >> size;
-        while (transforms.size() < size)
-            transforms.append(transforms.first()->clone());
-        for (int i=0; i<size; i++)
-            transforms[i]->load(stream);
-    }
-};
-
 /* Transform - public methods */
 Transform::Transform(bool _independent, bool _trainable)
 {
@@ -1277,8 +1137,17 @@ Transform *Transform::make(QString str, QObject *parent)
     File f = "." + str;
     Transform *transform = Factory<Transform>::make(f);
 
-    if (transform->independent)
-        transform = new Independent(transform);
+    if (transform->independent) {
+//        Transform *independentTransform = Factory<Transform>::make(".Independent");
+//        static_cast<QObject*>(independentTransform)->setProperty("transform", qVariantFromValue<void*>(transform));
+//        independentTransform->init();
+//        transform = independentTransform;
+
+                File independent(".Independent");
+                independent.set("transform", qVariantFromValue<void*>(transform));
+                transform = Factory<Transform>::make(independent);
+    }
+
     transform->setParent(parent);
     return transform;
 }
diff --git a/openbr/openbr_plugin.h b/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
index 2775aee..b262eb7 100644
--- a/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
+++ b/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
@@ -497,6 +497,7 @@ public:
     QString argument(int index) const; /*!< \brief A string value for the argument at the specified index. */
     QString description() const; /*!< \brief Returns a string description of the object. */
     void setProperty(const QString &name, const QString &value); /*!< \brief Overload of QObject::setProperty to handle OpenBR data types. */
+    void setProperty(const QString &name, const QVariant &value, bool failOnError = false); /*!< \brief Overload of QObject::setProperty to handle OpenBR data types. */
     static QStringList parse(const QString &string, char split = ','); /*!< \brief Splits the string while respecting lexical scoping of <tt>()</tt>, <tt>[]</tt>, <tt>\<\></tt>, and <tt>{}</tt>. */
 
 private:
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/independent.cpp b/openbr/plugins/independent.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f221f51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openbr/plugins/independent.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,187 @@
+#include <QFutureSynchronizer>
+#include <QtConcurrentRun>
+
+#include "openbr_internal.h"
+#include "openbr/core/common.h"
+
+using namespace cv;
+
+namespace br
+{
+
+static TemplateList Downsample(const TemplateList &templates, const Transform *transform)
+{
+    // Return early when no downsampling is required
+    if ((transform->classes == std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) &&
+            (transform->instances == std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) &&
+            (transform->fraction >= 1))
+        return templates;
+
+    const bool atLeast = transform->instances < 0;
+    const int instances = abs(transform->instances);
+
+    QList<int> allLabels = templates.labels<int>();
+    QList<int> uniqueLabels = allLabels.toSet().toList();
+    qSort(uniqueLabels);
+
+    QMap<int,int> counts = templates.labelCounts(instances != std::numeric_limits<int>::max());
+    if ((instances != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) && (transform->classes != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()))
+        foreach (int label, counts.keys())
+            if (counts[label] < instances)
+                counts.remove(label);
+    uniqueLabels = counts.keys();
+    if ((transform->classes != std::numeric_limits<int>::max()) && (uniqueLabels.size() < transform->classes))
+        qWarning("Downsample requested %d classes but only %d are available.", transform->classes, uniqueLabels.size());
+
+    Common::seedRNG();
+    QList<int> selectedLabels = uniqueLabels;
+    if (transform->classes < uniqueLabels.size()) {
+        std::random_shuffle(selectedLabels.begin(), selectedLabels.end());
+        selectedLabels = selectedLabels.mid(0, transform->classes);
+    }
+
+    TemplateList downsample;
+    for (int i=0; i<selectedLabels.size(); i++) {
+        const int selectedLabel = selectedLabels[i];
+        QList<int> indices;
+        for (int j=0; j<allLabels.size(); j++)
+            if ((allLabels[j] == selectedLabel) && (!templates.value(j).file.get<bool>("FTE", false)))
+                indices.append(j);
+
+        std::random_shuffle(indices.begin(), indices.end());
+        const int max = atLeast ? indices.size() : std::min(indices.size(), instances);
+        for (int j=0; j<max; j++)
+            downsample.append(templates.value(indices[j]));
+    }
+
+    if (transform->fraction < 1) {
+        std::random_shuffle(downsample.begin(), downsample.end());
+        downsample = downsample.mid(0, downsample.size()*transform->fraction);
+    }
+
+    return downsample;
+}
+
+/*!
+ * \ingroup transforms
+ * \brief Clones the transform so that it can be applied independently.
+ * \author Josh Klontz \cite jklontz
+ * \em Independent transforms expect single-matrix templates.
+ */
+class IndependentTransform : public MetaTransform
+{
+    Q_OBJECT
+    Q_PROPERTY(br::Transform* transform READ get_transform WRITE set_transform STORED false)
+    BR_PROPERTY(br::Transform*, transform, NULL)
+
+    QList<Transform*> transforms;
+
+    void init()
+    {
+        transforms.clear();
+        if (transform == NULL)
+            return;
+
+        transform->setParent(this);
+        transforms.append(transform);
+        file = transform->file;
+        trainable = transform->trainable;
+        setObjectName(transform->objectName());
+    }
+
+    Transform *clone() const
+    {
+        IndependentTransform *independentTransform = new IndependentTransform();
+        independentTransform->transform = transform->clone();
+        independentTransform->init();
+        return independentTransform;
+    }
+
+    static void _train(Transform *transform, const TemplateList *data)
+    {
+        transform->train(*data);
+    }
+
+    void train(const TemplateList &data)
+    {
+        // Don't bother if the transform is untrainable
+        if (!trainable) return;
+
+        QList<TemplateList> templatesList;
+        foreach (const Template &t, data) {
+            if ((templatesList.size() != t.size()) && !templatesList.isEmpty())
+                qWarning("Independent::train template %s of size %d differs from expected size %d.", qPrintable(t.file.name), t.size(), templatesList.size());
+            while (templatesList.size() < t.size())
+                templatesList.append(TemplateList());
+            for (int i=0; i<t.size(); i++)
+                templatesList[i].append(Template(t.file, t[i]));
+        }
+
+        while (transforms.size() < templatesList.size())
+            transforms.append(transform->clone());
+
+        for (int i=0; i<templatesList.size(); i++)
+            templatesList[i] = Downsample(templatesList[i], transforms[i]);
+
+        QFutureSynchronizer<void> futures;
+        for (int i=0; i<templatesList.size(); i++)
+            futures.addFuture(QtConcurrent::run(_train, transforms[i], &templatesList[i]));
+        futures.waitForFinished();
+    }
+
+    void project(const Template &src, Template &dst) const
+    {
+        dst.file = src.file;
+        QList<Mat> mats;
+        for (int i=0; i<src.size(); i++) {
+            transforms[i%transforms.size()]->project(Template(src.file, src[i]), dst);
+            mats.append(dst);
+            dst.clear();
+        }
+        dst.append(mats);
+    }
+
+    void store(QDataStream &stream) const
+    {
+        const int size = transforms.size();
+        stream << size;
+        for (int i=0; i<size; i++)
+            transforms[i]->store(stream);
+    }
+
+    void load(QDataStream &stream)
+    {
+        int size;
+        stream >> size;
+        while (transforms.size() < size)
+            transforms.append(transform->clone());
+        for (int i=0; i<size; i++)
+            transforms[i]->load(stream);
+    }
+};
+
+BR_REGISTER(Transform, IndependentTransform)
+
+//        File independent(".Independent");
+//        independent.set("transform", qVariantFromValue<void*>(transform));
+//        transform = Factory<Transform>::make(independent);
+
+//     void setProperty(const QString &name, const QVariant &value, bool errorOnFailure = false); /*!< \brief Overload of QObject::setProperty to handle OpenBR data types. */
+
+//if (key.startsWith(("_Arg"))) {
+//    const int argumentNumber = key.mid(4).toInt();
+//    const int targetIdx = argumentNumber + firstAvailablePropertyIdx;
+//    if (targetIdx >= metaObject()->propertyCount()) {
+//        qWarning("Too many arguments for transform %s, ignoring %s", qPrintable(objectName()), qPrintable(key));
+//        continue;
+//    }
+//    key = metaObject()->property(targetIdx).name();
+//}
+
+//const QVariant value = file.value(key);
+//if (value.canConvert<QString>()) setProperty(key, value.toString()); // Parse the value first
+//else                             setProperty(key, value);            // Set the property directly
+
+} // namespace br
+
+#include "independent.moc"