1/6 Scale

Boxing Ring Diorama Tutorial

Video Trailer:

Basic

Materials Needed

1/4″ Foam Board, 1/2″ Foam Board,  sharp cutting tool, Sewing Pins & Contact Paper

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS NEEDED

 

Cutting Board

Cutting Board

Hair Clip

Hair Clip

Acrylic Paint

Acrylic Paint

Hair Ties

Hair Ties

Dowel - Balsa Wood Strips

Dowel - Balsa Wood Strips

Cutting Tool - Medium Duty

Cutting Tool - Medium Duty

Rope

Rope

Wire - Flat Flexible

Wire - Flat Flexible

Sewing Pins - Ball Head

Sewing Pins - Ball Head

Duck Tape

Duck Tape

Dowel - wooden

Dowel - wooden

Sewing Machine

Sewing Machine

Ruler - L-Shaped

Ruler - L-Shaped

Glue

Glue

Jewelry Tools

Jewelry Tools

Fabric

Fabric

RING BASE

This diorama has been my most challenging to date. Not because it was physically difficult to construct, but because I had to figure out how to engineer its construction. I haven’t seen anyone try it before, so I had no examples. I used photos of real boxing rings for my templates and did the best I could with the materials I found at crafts stores to replicate those photos.

I looked up the dimensions for a professional ring (23 ft x 23 ft (20 ft x 20 ft inside), with a 3 ft platform height). I did my best to make them 1/6 scale, however, I had to take into consideration my crafting and filming space, a 4’x5′ table and light rig. So mine is slightly smaller than a true 1/6 scale.

When pinning I always use my barrett to push in the pins, saves a lot of pain on my finger tips.

The Boxing Ring Base: 4 pieces 30″x20″ 1/4″ foam board were cut 25″ long, and 5.5″ tall. They were then glued with Tacky glue and nailed together with sewing pins to make the base walls.  I was going to take this apart later, since it’s really large to store anywhere, so I tried it first without the glue… I don’t recommend it. There’s so much that needs to be done, that the pins just slide out and it falls apart. Glue and pin the walls together.

A 30″x20″ foam board wasn’t large enough to cover the top, so I had to glue two cut pieces together. I then glued and pinned them to the base walls.

It’s actually pretty sturdy. You can also put a 5th 25″, 5.5″ high wall through the middle to make it even sturdier if you think you’re going to be putting heavier objects than action figures on it.

I was able to pose several action figures inside the ring without needing the center support flooring wall.

Canvas Ring Cover –

Stored in one of my fabric drawers, I just happened to have 2 yards of a thick satin material that was the correct blue used in many boxing rings. On one side it was satin, flip it over and the texture resempled a canvas material. This material was too think to make bedding or doll clothes out of. I was never sure what I was going to use it for. It was fate. It just need to be fitted to the base, ironed and sewed.

I pinned around the bottom to make a fitted cuff, then figure out where the corners needed to be sewn. Then ironed and sewed it to fit the box edges. If you can’t sew, you can always wrap the foam board base and glue the material to it on the inside. I’ve also pinned fabric to foam board before. Lots of possibilities.  Here’s the sewn cover over the box. I couldn’t iron it anymore and some of the bottom edges were flipping out. So I pinned them to the box for several days. Now they hang down correctly.

RING ROPES & ACCESSORIES

I needed to do a little painting for the outside poles, which I used wooden dowels and also the corner stools which came with a boxing kit I’ll show towards the end of this tutorial. The stools were a plain light brown wood. So I found a small can of red exterior house paint that wasn’t too glossy and painted them over the course of a couple days to make sure everything dried. I applied a couple coats of paint.

The interior ropes is what took me months to figure out how to contruct. I finally decided to use 4 square shaped dowels. I would cut holes in the top of my ring to push the dowels through them to provide something to tie my ropes to. Not wanting to do more painting, I chose to wrap the dowels in black electrical tape.  I wrapped them like you would the grip on a tennis racket, baseball bat or hockey stick; diagonally up.

I drew around the base of each dowel, then cut four holes in the ring floor to fit each dowel.  Once all four were wrapped, I made little square 1/2″ thick foam board feet for them, pushing them into the boarm board to make them stay in place once I push them through the ring floor. I found later these feet weren’t that necessary, they helped slightly to keep the poles in place. 

The interior ropes is what took me months to figure out how to contruct. I finally decided to use 4 square shaped dowels. I would cut holes in the top of my ring to push the dowels through them to provide something to tie my ropes to. Not wanting to do more painting, I chose to wrap the dowels in black electrical tape.  I wrapped them like you would the grip on a tennis racket, baseball bat or hockey stick; diagonally up.

I drew around the base of each dowel, then cut four holes in the ring floor to fit each dowel.  Once all four were wrapped, I made little square 1/2″ thick foam board feet for them, pushing them into the boarm board to make them stay in place once I push them through the ring floor. I found later these feet weren’t that necessary, they helped slightly to keep the poles in place. 

The cloth cover was put back on, since holes need to be cut in the same place as the squares for the dowels to fit through.

I used a cutting tool and cut an ‘X’ inside each square. Flipped over the ring right side up and pushed the dowel down through the square. this will take the cover materials frayed edges down with it so you can’t see them.

If you try pushing the down up from the bottom the cut ‘X’ frayed material will pop up on the top and look awful. I learn by trying everything.

Using clear hair ties and sewing pins, I secured the red round dowels to the boxing ring base corners.

Make the clear band as tight across the dowel as possible as the pins are pushed it. It will need this towards the top and bottom of the dowel. 

A roll of 3-yard Red Flat Aluminum wire is cut into strips and then wrapped around both dowels to connect then. The wire is easily bendable to wrap, but the middle is stiff enough to make the poles stand up securely enough.

Boxing rings usually have red, white and blue ropes. I got 4 yards of each color. I should have got 8 yards of white. Luckily the boxing kit came with several 1 yard ropes so I made due with what I had. If you’re building this at home, buy 4 ropes, 4 yards each.  Real boxing rings have padding in the four corners. I used a roll of thick, rubber-like contact grip liner that goes into kitchen drawers. I cut a strip of one and put pins through it and the tied ropes on the other side. It looked close enough for what I needed. To complete the look I cut strips of white contact paper and wrapped them around two per each side towards the center. 

The Finished Ring.

All the boxing accessories, like the stools, buckets, boxing gloves, robe, shorts and boots came from this ZC World MH7 Boxing Legend set. They were on sale and I purchased 2 to have enough for the 2 boxers.  The stools were painted red and one set of shorts and robe were painted read with watered-down acrylic paint to change one set of boxers and robe to red. When it dried, they were slightly stiffer, but then loosened up as I moved the material around. It doesn’t stain the action figures.

RING STEPS

 I needed small staircases going up to the corners of the rings. I used a 1″x 1″ rise/run measurement and created the outside stair walls. I made 3 sets of these stairs which took about 4 hours. Just warning you now, this is one of the more detail and labor intensive projects.

I then had to cut 4 rise pieces 1″ high, by the length of my staircase. You can chose how wide you need these. I made mine 4″ wide.

I wrapped every rise-piece and run-piece in black contact paper. Another way it to use black foam board, I just don’t like the two toned color on the edges, which is why I went the long route.

I start off with putting the foam board piece on a sticky contact paper rectangle. Then cut the edges away like this cross pattern to the right, and then pull the contact paper over the back of the board to seal it.

I also wrapped all my side stair walls. This is much trickier than just a rectangle so you’ll have to pick either the rise or run to wrap the contact paper around. Both will be covered with a pinned piece of board anyway so it doesn’t matter.

With all the rise pieces wrapped, the pinning begins. I usually start with the rise pieces one on top, one towards the bottom, just to secure it as a unit. Two pins per side.

Placing them on the stair, I make sure they’ll all fit before wrapping them in black contact paper.

All the parts are now covered with black contact paper, but I want to embellish the stair steps, so I’m not pinning them yet. I then cut 1/2″ strips of silver contact paper which I will apply to the front and back of each step and wrap it around the underside of the step to secure it.

Below is a step that just got a silver strip put on it, above is what it looks like wrapped and finished. It looks more like an industrial stage stair. Many boxing stairs are metal, so this is the next best thing. The completed stairs. They look better than I expected. The four hours were worth it.

AUDIENCE SEATING

Stairs, but on a much larger scale. I’m making a spectator platform out of a 30″x 20″ board, using the entire board. I cut rise/run side panels with the run being 10″ deep. I measured with a doll sitting in a plastic chair I own, how much space they would need sitting in the audience.

Since this is huge, I noticed right away after wrapping the sides with black contact paper and the rise boards with marble contact paper and pinning them that it dips in the middle with any weight.

So I made a 3rd side panel and put it in the middle pinning it to the rise boards. The run/stair tops are now pinned on top of this. I pinned two on eack side of the middle bar and one into the middle bar.

Fully constructed, but if it’s going to have stairs in the middle going up the bleachers, then it needs a little embellishment. I put dow cut strips of silver contact paper to display each stair step up. The chairs I’ve purchased from various vendors on eBay, just search for “1/6 chair” and you’ll find all kinds of goodies. Another shot from above. Now I have two very large set pieces to fit on a 4’x 5′ table and film my story in. This is going to be challenging.

SETTING UP SCENE WITH 1/6 FIGURES

I bought cheap black sheets and used 2 flat sheets and safety pins to fasten them to the top bars of my light rig to make the background black. I kept the lighting just above the boxing ring like in a real professional stadium. 

The hanging microphone is just an earbud from my music earphones hanging from the light rig bar above.

And my girl with the “Round 1” sign has a thin wire used to make jewelry twisted around her neck and attached to the light rig ceiling pole to have her standing without a doll stand. I touch up and eliminate the wire out of photos later.  I set up dolls in the back stepped platform I made sittig down in chairs. The rest are all on doll stands standing on stacked doll boxes that are hidden beneath the bottom of the black curtain.  Photos from the story ‘The Belt’ taken in this set.  The camera flashes are paintbrush sparkles are from Ron’s Boken and Angel Dust from Daz3-D. See the link at the bottom of the page.

Thanks so much for reading my Boxing Ring Tutorial. It’s definitely made me see I can overcome challenges with a little patience and time. Even if you don’t think you can build something, keep trying. You’ll surprise yourself.

See the finished set in ‘The Belt’

 

 

The heavyweight fight that never was could bring two rivals back together for a rematch.

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