The Karabiner 31, or Kar31 for short, was a unique bolt-action rifle from Switzerland. I was blessed with an opportunity to recreate the rifle in its full mechanical glory when I was granted access to many of the original technical drawings.

These are some of the final screenshots from the CAD modeller. If I have either exact measurements or an example to derive dimensions from, I model the weapon using a CAD modeller since its process is better fitted for this sort of precision. This was no exception as I used Fusion 360 to carry out the modeling. Even with the technical drawings at hand and a real-life example to reference, it took a dedicated amount of time to model all the complex geometries and piece the assembly together. The model was then exported to Blender where all components were retopologized since the export alone gives unfavorable meshes. Also, the leather sling and its rear hook attachment was added here since those were much better suited for modeling within Blender. With all components completely retopologized, materials were made and certain markings were added. A very thorough rig was also made for animating the weapon, but that is to be discussed separately.

Modeled in Fusion 360, retopologized in Blender, rendered with the Blender Cycles Render Engine.