Rhino: Wooden Pull Toy

Today we are going to be creating a wooden pull-toy which will include wheels, axles, a rope, etc.  Remember that a wooden toy for children typically has rounded (filleted) edges.  Because there isn't a definite pattern for this project, I expect it will take a couple days to find a good design, model the body, create the wheels, etc.  Over the next couple days [while you are working on this project] I will also be grading your projects.

The basic outline for what we're doing includes:

• Add a "BackgroundBitmap" 
• Trace with a complete "Control Point Curve"
• Remove the BackgroundBitmap
• Extrude the Curve
• Cap the Curve
• FilletEdge (if possible) -- although complex curves almost never work
• Add a base platform (if necessary)
• Add wheels (cylinders) and axles (cylinders)
• Draw a curve for a rope/string
• Bend the rope/string curve to "hang" to the ground
• Pipe the rope/string curve
• Add a floor and walls
• Texture all of your pieces
• Add lighting as needed

Here are some examples of wooden pull toys that I found simply by typing "wooden pull toys" in Google.

Notice the different ways that wheels are done, different painting styles, different types of wood pieces (spheres, flat wood, beveled edges, etc.), and different methods for ropes/pulls.

 

You can also find woodworking plans on the Internet which you can actually use to create 3D models.  Here are a few examples:

Something else you might want to try is doing a search for "silhouette animal".  Here are a couple examples:

Using the camel silhouette, I traced a curve, extruded it, capped it, filleted the edges, and created the following pull-toy: