Wrestling Ring for Action Figures (to Replace Those Hunks of Plastic With a More Realistic Design)

This is my first instructable so if i miss anything comment and ill be sure to give info. This is an instructable on how to make a wrestling ring for the 6 inch action figures(or atleast a walkthrough on how i did). Im making this as a gift for my son because the rings that are made by the toy companys are alot smaller than they should be... not to mention they're just a huge chunk of plastic... soooo lets get started.

Step 1 Gather Materials and Tools

First thing we're going to do is gather up the materials we will need for this. Now keep in mind this is the first time im attempting to make one of these so if i miss anything ill add it back later.... not to mention im writing as i go...
Plywood for the ring mat
plywood for the sides and legs of the ring
something to act as the corner posts (i used the metal poles off of one of my kids broken camping style chairs)
something to act as the ring ropes (i used old ropes from one of my rings as a kid)
hook screws x12
flat tip wood screws x12
wood screws x20
old shirt (color should be the color you want the ring mat)
padding for the ring mat (bubble wrap Styrofoam ect.)
old sheet of metal or metal strips (i used an old broken cpu casing this will be used to connect our rings legs and sides to each other)
action figure to use as a measurement tool
saw
sandpaper
tape
old plastic or something to use as ring skirts
Tools
the main things i used were a saw, power drill, sandpaper, tape, and scissors (i had to use a rotary tool and a vise for my posts)
now... somethings may have been left out or have not been made clear it'll clear up as we go on. the main thing is i used whatever i had lying around or things that were going to the trash. There isn't a deadset way to do this just have fun and be creative.

Step 2 Cut Parts for Ring

for this its up to you, you need to choose a size for your ring as well as cutting the parts for the side of the ring. for me i wanted a realistic look for my son. So i cut the wood for the sides and the mat based off of the figures being able to suplex one another in the ring ... my measurements arent precise but again its up to you on size
my mat is 15in on each side to make a square
my ring sides (aprons) are 14 and 7/8 inches in length and 3/4in on top and 13/15in on the sides that will sit around the ring.
In the end ill explain more on why i set it up this way.

Step 3 Insert Screws in Sides So Mat Sits on Top of Screws

Now for making our aprons or sides let me be clear, I did this so weapons and fifures can move around underneath it IS much easier to place and make a box style ring and close it off... however i have 2 sons and my youngest would probably find time to spill something inside in which case mold could occur without me knowing so im going to make this with no bottom or box type siding... now onto Making our aprons for this i used screws that were flat im guessing here but i believe they're called machine screws (not worried about them much as they will serve as a seat). Position them to where your ring mat will sit on top comfortably. i used 3 on each side piece, 1 on each end and one in the middle.

Step 4 Cover Ring Mat

I went for a soft feel here, I placed bubble wrap (thin sheets) onto the mat and then covered it with an old polo shirt (only used polo because I liked the thickness and feel to it) I then stretched the shirt over the top and taped it down after cutting to fit around the ring mat. (i used tape because its going to be something my son plays with... so it'll tear at some point not to mention just getting dirty)

Step 5 Make Legs

here we're going to make legs for the sides to screw down to and for the ring posts to attach to...i made them to where they would meet the figures above the hips like they do when standing next to an actual ring. (thats the only measurement i used for that)....
FOLLOW ALONG IF READING AND NOT WORKING DO NOT USE THE PLASTIC
soooo... i made a mistake and made my legs to narrow for the design i was going for, so to fix my mistake i took 2 old sd card cases and broke them in half. i then placed them on top of my leg pieces and screwed them into both the top of the legs and the bottom of the 2 meeting side pieces.
^ this... as some experienced authors can probably guess is a no-no ... it did nothing but help the rings sides bend and tilt later on... so i did the same thing only i replaced my bad idea with metal that is the same size as the plastic sd card case. The pics will show the ring put together with the metal pieces instead of the plastic because they were switched.

Now to correctly do this take the legs and metal... take 2 screws not 1 and put them in the middle of our rings legs... then attach each leg by using the metal the a side rail and screw the metal down to it...

Step 6 Insert Mat

Now we can flip our rings frame over and drop our mat onto the screws we have on the inside frame. keep in mind wrestling rings have ring skirts to cover the frame of the ring the screws will also be used to hold our skirts.

Step 7 Cutting and Fixing Our Ring Posts

NOTE: This instructable would be easier and take less time using either pvc pipe or wood for your corner posts... if you do use metal posts as i did be sure to double and triple check your corner hooks! Make sure they are screwed in and not loose at all, the hooks can and possible later on will pop out of the posts so im going to go back and reinforce them with either wires or something else...

Now we're going to cut our ring posts. For mine i decided i wanted the posts to be a bit realistic so i took the rods off of an old childrens camping chair and will cut them to around 10 inches or so. however it is much easier and simpler im guessing to use pvc pipe or wood (easier to cut and find ALSO holds the hook screws in better)
After we cut the posts we are going to drill 3 holes on the top half and 2 on the bottom (for positioning check pics) the 2 in the bottom will screw into our rings legs to hold our posts on, and obviously the 3 in the top will hold our hook screws and our ring ropes.

KEEP IN MIND your rings leg has 2 screws already in them, so drill the posts holes (centered) at the bottom of the leg and in the middle

After drilling the holes go ahead and attach them with screws to our rings legs and frame.
Next attach our hook screws (hold off on the ropes)

Step 8 Making Our Base (or Stabilizers) and Adding the Ropes

the way my design is set up nce the opes are attached the legs wont hold allowing the ropes to pull our osts nto the ring...real rings have metal frames and connect the ring posts to either each other or the center of the ring using cables ... sooooo lets put 4 hook screws on the inside of our legs (1 on each leg) near the bottom and take some wire... i used the cheap wire that comes in the picture hanging kit for one and the other i used speaker wire
Once you flip your ring upside down connect the top left to the bottom right using your wire.
then take the bottom left and connect to the top right. your wires should make an x in the center.
after doing this add your ring ropes be sure to add each rope to the hook and then connect it to the second post that is in the opposing corner.
if your posts come in flip your ring and tighten the middle of your wires together until the posts are straight.
BE CAREFUL the hooks can pop out of the posts if the hole you drilled were to large... the ropes do have alot more tension to them than you would think.

ALL DONE (RKO Outta Nowhere!)

For now im just going to add some plastic for my ring skirts so my son can enjoy his new ring. Later ill add actual ring skirts so it looks alot berter and will probably include them in an instructable somehow. WHILE I DIDNT COVER IT do not forget to cover your corner posts hooks this is another thing ill probably make later on but for now ill just use pieces of the old shirt that served as our mat cover. Again this is my first instructable and im sorry if anything (other than my grammar :( i know i was in a hurry) is hard to follow or if i missed anything. PLEASE inform me if my steps can be better. If i notice anything missing ill add it in and please feel free to help me or anyone else with tips on how to make it better. Thanks for reading and stay tuned next we're going to make an entrance stage ... good job Orton... good job

Step 10 ADD-ONS

Now this are up to you and completely open to personal ideas. For mine i added the apron (just a shirt for now) and some turnbuckle covers. If your interested in adding these gather your materials for this and be aware it is time consuming...

Your going to need (or atleast the way i did my sons)

An old t-shirt

Some scissors

A hot glue gun and some glue

Little pieces of cardboard

And last but not least some Velcro patches (i used these because i wanted the turnbuckle covers to be removable)

Follow along if interested

Optional Step Ring Aprons

For my ring aprons i simply cut pieces off of an old black shirt fitted to each side of my ring. After cutting the 4 sides i trimmed them down to fit better then used my hot glue gun and made the sides and bottom of each piece fold over and glued them down comment if thats confusing and ill be more clear.

Optional Step 2 Turnbuckles (or Turnbuckle Covers I Dont Know)

Now before getting started understand you have to do 12 of these and they are very tedious, its also very time consuming so be prepared before continuing. That said I LOVED adding these for my son the way i did. I added velcro strips to them so when they fold over in the corner they can stick together and be easily removed for his figures to use. For this step you'll need to use your own measurements. I cut strips off of the same old shirt and then simply cut strips off of a piece of cardboard so that it would fit inside. After i took my glue gun, glues the cardboard pieces to the shirt. Then i folded the shirt over onto my cardboard pieces so that it would fit over our corner hooks as you can see in the pick. After being sure it would fit i took the velcro strips and put them onto the turnbuckle pads and placed them over the corner hooks. Yes its simple but very very time consuming. Well i hope you enjoyed the instructable and the add ons. I may add more later if everyone likes this. It is an excellent gift and a fun project. Thanks for reading and have a great day.