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Updated: August 5, 2021
Blender 2.93.1
PDF file available here.
Having created several heavy items we need a conveyance to load and unload them from trains when they arrive at the station. For this we are going to make a luggage barrow. I’ve selected that has several views we can use as references for modelling.
(Click on image to expand.)
There is a particularly good side view that I have used for a side profile and to get the overall dimensions of the barrow. Dimensions are in inches although to make modelling a little easier I will add a factor of 100 and refer to them as units rather than inches.
(Click on image to expand.)
The top profile has been extracted as best I could from this top view.
(Click on image to expand.)
(Click on image to expand.)
We will use the Default Cube to start our model.
• Open Blender, in the Outliner Window select the Default Cube
and rename it “Barrel” (1).
• To clean things up delete the Camera and the Light
(X-KEY > Delete) (2).
• In the Properties Window select the Scene Properties Tab (3)
and open the Units Chevron.
• Set the Unit Scale to Imperial (4).
• Set the Unit Scale to 100 (5). This will facilitate adding specific
edge lengths later.
• Set the Length to “Inches” (6).
• In the 3D Editor Window reveal the Properties Panel (N-KEY)
and under Dimensions to 71 inches, 23.3 inch and 24.1 feet by
entering “71in”, “12.3in” and “24.1in” (7). Blender knows these
short forms for inches and feet. You could also add the space,
e.g., “4 in” or use the long form, e.g., “4 inches”.
• Set the Z Location to 12.05 inches (8).
• With the mesh selected apply these changes (transformations)
(CTRL + A-KEY and select ‘Rotation & Scale’) (9).
Note: Applying rotation and scale is important for applying modifiers
later. Notice that the X, Y and Z rotation reset to 1.000.
(Click on image to expand.)
This would be a good time to save your work.
• Open the Browser Window (File Menu > Save As…).
• Press the NUMPAD-PLUS-KEY to increment the file number by 1
to “Barrow01.blend”.
• Press RETURN or ENTER or LMB click Save as Blender File.
A copy of Barrow01.blend is available here.
• Switch to Edit Mode (TAB-KEY), Edge Selection Mode (2-KEY)
and Left View (CTRL + NUMPAD-3-KEY) (1).
Now let’s create the outline of the side rails of the barrow.
Note: Use either Perspective View or Orthographic View
(toggle NUMPAD-5-KEY). I often preferPerspective View.
• Open the Overlays Chevron (2) and check ‘Edge Length’ (3).
• Select the corner edge and subdivide (RMB > Subdivide) (4).
• Switch to Vertex Selection Mode (1-KEY) and move (G-KEY >
G-KEY > DRAG) the vertex down until it is 1152 units
(i.e., 11.52 inches) from the bottom (5).
Note: To position the view with the edge selected press
NUMPAD-Period to zoom in on the selection. For more precision
in adjusting the edge length zoom in before dragging. Also hold
down the Shift-Key while dragging.
(Click on image to expand.)
Note: I have set more user-friendly keyboard preferences for Rotate
and Pan view. For Rotate I use the CTRL + LMB > DRAG (1).
For Pan I use WINDOWS + ALT + LMB > DRAG (2).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Switch to Edge Selection Mode (2-KEY) and select the opposite
end edge and subdivide (RMB > Subdivide) then select one half
and subdivide again.
• Switch to Left Orthogonal View (CTRL + NUMPAD-3-KEY) and
Vertex Selection Mode (1-KEY).
• Turn on ‘Snap during Transform’ (1) and select Vertex as the
target (2).
• Move the two new vertices (3) down (G-KEY > Z-KEY > DRAG)
snapping them to the vertices on the other side (4).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Switch to Edge Selection Mode (2-KEY) and select the opposite
end edge and subdivide (RMB > Subdivide) then select one half
and subdivide again.
• Switch to Left Orthogonal View (CTRL + NUMPAD-3-KEY) and
Vertex Selection Mode (1-KEY).
• Turn on ‘Snap during Transform’ (1) and select Vertex as the
target (2).
• Move the two new vertices (3) down (G-KEY > Z-KEY > DRAG)
snapping them to the vertices on the other side (4).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Switch to Left Orthogonal View (CTRL + NUMPAD-3-KEY) and
Edge Selection Mode (2-KEY).
• Select the top and bottom edges and subdivide
(RMB > Subdivide > F9 > Number of Cuts “2”) (1).
• Select each edge and move (G-KEY > Z-KEY > DRAG) it out to
598 units from the ends (2).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Subdivide the new vertical edges twice and move the
bottom vertex to 579 units from the bottom (1) and
top vertex to 244 units above the bottom vertex (2).
• Turn on X-Ray mode (3) and join the front and back vertices to
form the outline of the outside edges of the Barrow’s
side beams (4).
(Click on image to expand.)
This would be a good time to save your work.
• Open the Browser Window (File Menu > Save As…).
• Press the NUMPAD-PLUS-KEY to increment the file number
by 1 to “Barrow02.blend”.
• Press RETURN or ENTER or LMB click Save as Blender File.
A copy of Barrow02.blend is available here.
We can now give the side rails some thickness.
• In Edge Selection Mode (2-KEY) select the two center edges
top and bottom and subdivide twice (1).
• Move the edges out wards to 185 units from the outside (2).
• Repeat on the other end of the mesh (3).
• Subdivide each edge twice and using ‘Snap during Transform
move the vertices to align with the outside vertices (4).
• Join (F-KEY) the vertices to form the inside faces of the
side rails (5).
• Join the ends of the rails (J-KEY) (6).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Delete the outside faces of the box and fill in the faces of the rails.
• Switch to Face Selection Mode (3-KEY), select and separate (P-KEY)
the remaining faces of the box into a separate object, name it
“Box” and keep for future reference. You can hide it for now (2).
You can also turn off ‘Snap during Transformation (3).
(Click on image to expand.)
Let’s now work on the wheel.
• Switch to Front View (NUMPAD-1-KEY) and add a Circle Primitive
(Add Menu > Mesh > Circle) (1).
• In the mesh Options Window (F9) set the Vertices to 16,
the radius to 787 units and the X-axis Rotation to 90 (2).
• Move the Circle mesh on the x-axis and z-axis to align with
the front of the side rails (3). You can use the Cursor to aid in
alignment (select the end face of the rail and set the cursor to
the selected (SHIFT + S-KEY > Cursor to Selected).
(Click on image to expand.)
This would be a good time to save your work.
• Open the Browser Window (File Menu > Save As…).
• Press the NUMPAD-PLUS-KEY to increment the file number
by 1 to “Barrow03.blend”.
• Press RETURN or ENTER or LMB click Save as Blender File.
A copy of Barrow03.blend is available here.
• In Edit Mode (TAB-KEY) select the Circle Mesh and duplicate
(SHIFT + D-KEY).
• Scale the duplicate inwards (S-KEY > DRAG > ENTER).
• Switch to Vertex Selection Mode (1-KEY) and join the two
circles on the left (F-KEY) (1).
• Circle Select the inner circle (C-KEY DRAG < RMB) and scale
until the connecting edge is 200 units to form the wheel (2).
(Click on image to expand.)
Repeat the process to form the rim and the hub.
• Set the rim width to 30 units.
• Set the hub diameter to 340 units (1).
• Switch to Edge Selection Mode (2-KEY) select the rim edges
and bridge to fill in the faces (Edge Menu > Bridge Edge Loops).
• Fill the hub (F-KEY).
• Repeat to fill in the faces of the Wheel.
(Click on image to expand.)
• Switch to Right Side View (NUMPAD-3-KEY) and with the
Circle Mesh selected set the Cursor to the selected
(SHIFT + S-KEY > Cursor to Selected).
• Extrude the circle on the y-axis 160 units (S-KEY > Y-KEY >
enter “160”).
• Switch to Object Mode and with the circle still selected set
the origin to the cursor (Object Menu > Set origin >
Origin to Geometry.
• Rename the Circle Mesh “Wheel”.
(Click on image to expand.)
This would be a good time to save your work.
• Open the Browser Window (File Menu > Save As…).
• Press the NUMPAD-PLUS-KEY to increment the file number
by 1 to “Barrow04.blend”.
• Press RETURN or ENTER or LMB click Save as Blender File.
A copy of Barrow04.blend is available here.
Let’s now add the spokes. For this we are going to the Array and the Boolean Modifiers.
• Hide the Barrow Mesh and switch to Front View (NUMPAD-1-KEY).
• In Object Mode add a Cube (Add Menu > Mesh > Cube) and set
the size to x = 430 units, y = 90 units, z = 90 units (1).
• Move the Cube into position on the x-axis (G-KEY > X-KEY >
DRAG) (2).
• Change the name to “Spokes” (3).
(Click on image to expand.)
The Boolean Modifier uses one mesh as a template to carve out part of the mesh being created. There are several ways this can be done. Here we are going to use a cylinder as the template mesh to remove geometry to create the curved sides of the spoke.
(Click on image to expand.)
First let’s add some loop cuts to act as guides for positioning the cylindrical template.
• Switch to Edit Mode (TAB-KEY) and add a horizontal edge loop
(CTRL + R-KEY > position > Enter > Enter) (1).
• Add a three vertical edge loops (CTRL + R-KEY > position >
Enter > Enter) (2).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Switch to Object Mode and add a Cylinder (Add Menu > Mesh >
Cylinder).
• Bring up the Options Menu (F9).
• Set the Vertices to 96 (1).
• Set the Radius to 1000 units (2).
• Set the Depth to 200 units (3)
• Set the Rotation X to 90° (4).
• Move the Cylinder to below the Spoke (G-Key > X-key or
Z-KEY > Drag) (5).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Select the Spokes Mesh (LMB) then the Cylinder Mesh
(CTRL + LMB) then switch to Edit Mode (TAB-KEY) and
Vertex Selection Mode (1-KEY).
• Toggle on ‘Snap during Transformation’ (1) and with Vertex
as the Target (2) snap the cylinder to the target vertex, the
center vertex on the bottom edge loop (G-KEY > Z-KEY >LMB) (3).
(Click on image to expand.)
Now we can apply the Boolean Modifier.
• Switch to Object Mode (TAB-KEY) and select the spokes Mesh (1).
• In the Properties Window select the Modifier Tab (2) and add
a Boolean Modifier.
• Under Object select the Cylinder Mesh as the template (3).
• Click the Chevron (4) and select Apply.
(Click on image to expand.)
• Move the Cylinder up and repeat the process for the top face
of the spoke.
• You can delete the Cylinder Mesh.
Now let’s duplicate the spoke and move the duplicates into position around the wheel.
• With the Cursor still in the center of the wheel select the Spokes
Mesh and move the origin to the Cursor (Object Menu >
Set Origin > Origin to 3D Cursor) (1).
• With the Spokes mesh still selected duplicate (SHIFT + D-KEY)
and rotate 72° on y-axis (R-KEY > Y-KEY > “72” > ENTER).
• Repeat the duplication and rotation to create and position
the other three spokes.
• Select the spoke meshes (Spokes.004, Spokes.003, Spokes.002,
Spokes.001, Spokes) selecting ‘Spokes’ last and
join (CTRL + J-KEY).
(Click on image to expand.)
To complete our wheel let’s bevel and smooth the edges of the rim and wheel.
• Select the Wheel Mesh, switch to Edit Mode (TAB-KEY) and
Face Selection Mode (3-KEY) and select the faces of the rim
(SHIFT + ALT + LMB).
• Separate the selected faces and name the new mesh “Rim”.
• Hide the Wheel mesh, select the Rim Mesh, Edit Mode (TAB-KEY)
and Edge Selection Mode (2-KEY).
• Select the two edge loops (SHIFT + ALT + LMB) and bridge the
edge loops (Edge Menu > Bridge Edge Loops).
• Select the Select the two edge loops of the Wheel Mesh and
bridge the edge loops.
• Select one edge loop and apply a bevel (SHIFT + ALT + LMB >
CTRL + B-KEY > DRAG slightly).
• Open the Options (F9) and set the Width to 10 unit (1) and
the Segments to 3 (2).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Repeat the process for the opposite edge of the wheel and the
two edges of the Rim Mesh.
• Switch to Object Mode (TAB-KEY), select the Rim Mesh and
apply smooth shading (Object Menu > Shade Smooth).
• Apply and Edge Split Modifier with the default angle of 30°.
• Select the Wheel Mesh and apply smooth shading
(Object Menu > Shade Smooth).
• Apply and Edge Split Modifier with the default angle of 30°.
• Combine the Wheel and Spokes Meshes.
(Click on image to expand.)
This would be a good time to save your work.
• Open the Browser Window (File Menu > Save As…).
• Press the NUMPAD-PLUS-KEY to increment the file number
by 1 to “Barrow05.blend”.
• Press RETURN or ENTER or LMB click Save as Blender File.
A copy of Barrow05.blend is available here.
Now to finish the wheel let’s add the axle. The axle slopes down towards the side rail (1) and a metal rod pokes through (2).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Select the Wheel Mesh, switch to Edit Mode (TAB-KEY) and
Face Selection Mode (3-Key) and select the face of the hub.
• Extrude on the y-axis (E-KEY > Y-KEY > DRAG) snapping to the
inside corner vertex of the side rail (1).
• Scale the face down to slightly less than the width of the
side rail (2).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Add three edge loops (CTRL + R-Key > Numpad-3-Key >
ENTER > ENTER) (3).
• Scale and position the edge loops to taper.
• Hide the Barrow Mesh, select the end face of the hub again and
scale down to form the rod (E-KEY > S-KEY > DRAG).
• Select the center face, reveal the Barrow Mesh and extrude
through the side rail (E-KEY > Y-KEY > DRAG) so that it is visible
on the outside (1).
• Select the Wheel Mesh and Rim Mesh and adjust to center the
rod on the side rail (2). To see and adjust the result, turn on
X-Ray Mode (2) and select the hub end
(LMB one face > L-KEY) (3).
• Place the faces of the hub just inside the rail (4).
(Click on image to expand.)
Let’s separate the axle end so we can mirror it over to the other side.
• In Edit Mode select one face and then the reminder of the
axle end (LMB > L-KEY) and separate (P-KEY).
• Switch to Object Mode, open the Properties Panel (N-KEY) (1)
and with the axle end still selected apply the rotation and
scape (CTRL + A-KEY > select Rotation & Scale) (2).
• Apply a Mirror Modifier (Modifier Tab (3) >
Add Modifier (3) > Mirror).
• Set the Axis to Y (5).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Apply the modifier.
• With the axle end still selected apply and Edge Split Modifier
with the default angle of 30°.
• Select the axle end (Wheel.001) (LMB) then the Wheel Mesh
(CTRL + LMB) and join (J-KEY).
This would be a good time to save your work.
• Open the Browser Window (File Menu > Save As…).
• Press the NUMPAD-PLUS-KEY to increment the file number by 1
to “Barrow06.blend”.
• Press RETURN or ENTER or LMB click Save as Blender File.
A copy of Barrow06.blend is available here.
(Click on image to expand.)
Let’s now turn our attention back to the Barrow Mesh and add the back legs.
• In the Outliner make the Box mesh visible (1).
• Switch to Edit Mode and Edge Selection Mode.
• Select the bottom edge of the box (1) and subdivide
(RMB > Subdivide).
• Switch to vertex Selection Mode and turn on Edge Length
(Overlay Chevron > Edge Length) (2).
• Move (G-Key > G-KEY > DRAG) the new vertex to 2455 units
from the back end of the barrow (3).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Select the top of the back edge of the box, subdivide and move
the new vertex to 567 units from the one below (1).
• Extrude the vertex on the x-axis 2749 units (E-KEY > X-KEY >
enter “2749”) (2).
• Join with the bottom vertex (F-KEY) to make the side of the
back leg of 1985 units in length (3).
• Extrude the top vertex on the x-axis 225 units, subdivide and
position the bottom vertex and join to form the other edge
of the back leg (4).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Select the four vertices of the back leg and fill (F-KEY).
• Separate the face into its own mesh (P-KEY).
• Extrude 185 units (E-KEY > Y-KEY > enter “185”).
• Switch to Top View (NUMPAD-7-KEY) and hide the Box Mesh.
• In Object Mode set the origin to the geometry (Object Menu >
Set origin > Origin to Geometry).
• Move on the y-axis and rotate on the z-axis so that the leg is
flush with the side rail.
(Click on image to expand.)
The back leg is inset (1) on the side rail and also tapered at the top (2).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Switch back to Edit Mode and add vertical three loop cuts
(CTRL + R-KEY > NUMPAD-3 > ENTER > ENTER) (1).
• Add one horizontal loop cut and move it up to be flush with
the top of the side rail at both the front and the back (2).
• Select and move the leg and to inset it on the side rail to the
first loop cut (3).
• Adjust the horizontal edge to be flush with the top of the
side rail (4).
• Add the edges (J-KEY) to form the taper (5).
(Click on image to expand.)
• Dissolve (X-KEY > Dissolve Edges) the unnecessary edges.
• Set the Cursor to the World Origin (SHIFT + C-KEY) (1).
• Set the Origin on the leg to the Cursor (Object Mode >
Object Menu > Set Origin > Origin to Cursor) (2).
• Add a Mirror Modifier and set the axis to Y (3).
• Apply the modifier.
• Change the name to “Legs” (4).
(Click on image to expand.)
The legs and side rails have sculpted cut taken out of the edges. I am not going to model those but you can if you like using the Boolean Tool as we did for the spokes.
This would be a good time to save your work.
• Open the Browser Window (File Menu > Save As…).
• Press the NUMPAD-PLUS-KEY to increment the file number by
1 to “Barrow07.blend”.
• Press RETURN or ENTER or LMB click Save as Blender File.
A copy of Barrow07.blend is available here.
