DIY Foam Board Pony Risers Tutorial

[SailorEarth]

Copying this over from the old Arena 

A few years ago I decided I needed a way to display my ponies so I could actually see them all. I was tired of messing with dozens of boxes as makeshift risers and I couldn't afford nice acrylic risers so I decided to make my own.

Here's how I did it...


Materials
Two sheets of 20"x30"x3/16" foam board
Utility knife
Hot glue gun with several glue sticks
Yard stick, T-square or some other kind of straight edge
Pen
About 1/2 Yard of felt (optional)

First you need to cut out your side and middle pieces. I made a stencil so I can just trace around it instead of measuring it out every time. You could use the back side of a cereal box, store bought pizza box or something similar to make your stencil should you want one. The measurements will depend on the space where you display your ponies but I'll include the measurements I use for my risers in just a bit to give you an idea of the proportions
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Here I've traced all 3 of my "step" pieces onto the foam board
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Here I've got my ruler to use as a straight edge while I cut to make sure I don't wander off the line. Be careful not to cut yourself!
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You should have 3 identical step pieces
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This shot shows the measurements I used to fit my shelving system
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Take your second sheet of foam board and cut out a strip the same width as your lower step where the ponies will stand. If you have a large T-square now is the perfect time to use it to make sure everything stays as even as possible
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Run a generous bead of hot glue along the top edge of the lower step and place your strip on the edge. Watch out for the hot glue because it will squish out of the edges when you press it into place
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Repeat that step with the other end piece, then the middle and you should have something like this
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Cut another strip and do the same thing with the upper step and your risers should look like this
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Cut a third strip to close the gap between the two steps and glue it into place along the front edges of the 3 step pieces.
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At this point I flip my risers over and apply a bead of hot glue along the seams to ensure a strong build
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Flip them back over and cut the fourth strip to close the last gap on the front of your risers. Now is a good time to look your risers over and glue up any weak spots. At this point you can call it done or you can pretty it up a little bit
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I chose to cover mine in green felt to look like grass. You could also try other materials, just make sure it's safe for ponies to stand on. You wouldn't want to make lovely new risers for your ponies and find out later that all your ponies are stained. I find that the felt does a decent job of hiding the hot glue blobs and my ponies have been on these risers for years with no ill effects. In this shot I have my risers on their back and I'm starting to glue the felt into place on the lower edge. I'm keeping the selvedge edge of my felt lined up with the left edge of my risers to keep everything nice and even. Glue the felt into place on the front of the lower step in this pattern I___________I It's not necessary to glue the upper edge.
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To make it easier to handle you can snip away the excess felt on the right side of the first step
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Work the felt over the step and make sure it's relatively even and smooth and glue it into place in the same pattern I_____________I Keep smoothing and gluing until you get to the back edge. Now snip off all the excess felt
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Glue into place along the sides and the back edge
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Now you only have the sides left to deal with. If the risers will be in a bookcase there's no need to felt the sides as they won't be seen. For my shelves, I have two risers side by side so I only need to felt one end on this set.
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If you have scrap pieces this is a good place to use it. Just glue along all the edges and snip them off even
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Here's my completed riser
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Now for the fun part! Here's my shelf, packed full of ponies but I'm only able to see the ones on the front row. Ho-hum.
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Now here's the same shelf with the riser in use! Way better, no?
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My risers were cut to accommodate mostly G1 and G3 ponies so if you're only displaying G4s or babies you could work in an extra level on your risers and have even more room. It all depends on what you're displaying and where you're displaying it. Make a few test "step" patterns on regular paper and hold them up to the spot you intend to put them to make sure of the fit. Also hold ponies up to them to make sure the steps are the right height for the look you want to achieve.

Please post your results in this thread if you make these risers, I'd love to see what you come up with!

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I tried this however I seem to have a problem keeping the parts even

[SailorEarth]

lol, it does take a little practice ^_^ Aside from that, make sure you have a really sharp blade to cut with (dull blades create drag and make it really difficult to get a clean cut) and if you're going to be making a few risers I'd invest in a 36" aluminum T square. They're about $30 (use a 40% off coupon or wait for them to go on sale for 50% off) at Hobby Lobby and they make a world of difference. You can just slide your blade along the edge of the T square while holding it in place and you get lovely even cuts.

Don't feel bad if it doesn't look so great on your first try. My first riser was horrible. If I still had it I'd post a picture. The proportions were way off and it was cobbled together with masking tape  Don't give up on them too soon. You could try patching in/trimming off the uneven pieces as needed. If you cover them with felt you'll never be able to tell the difference. Even if you don't use felt they'll likely be so full of ponies you won't be able to see the patched up bits. You can do it! 

[ZennaBug]

Bookmarking this!  I need risers for my pony shelves and this seems so much easier than what I had been concocting in my head.

[TokiBear]

Thanks for posting this again!!  I keep meaning to try this out but all my ponies are boxed up so I'm waiting for now but I always loved this tutorial.

[HollowZero]

This is wonderful! A few alterations and it could work for action figures too. So funny how obvious it is, yet I didn't even think of it until I saw the thread.

[Leopard_Print_Unicorn]

Ooh, I like yours better than mine. Think I might have to use your idea when I build the rest.

[hathorcat]

I love this tutorial! Thank you so much for copying and sharing SailorEarth!

[LeighAnnApanites]

Thank you! I can't wait to get the foam board and try this out. I've been so sad looking at my poor ponies all crammed together on the desk. I'll be sure and take pictures.

[SailorEarth]

You're all very welcome, thanks for taking the time to read through it

[MyLittleLambie]

Great idea and great tutorial!!  Did you wash the felt first, or have you had any issues with the color of the felt transferring to ponies?  (I'm just asking because I've had dark color felt "bleed" into my Cabbage Patch kid's heads.)

[Lon-san]

FOAM board. *face palm* I have some made of wood for G1-G3/dolls and I've been using empty boxes for the G4s. I could have made custom fitted ones for a pittance :*(

[SailorEarth]

I've had my ponies on the felt for about 6 years now and none of them are discolored, even my white ponies. I didn't wash it or anything, it's just acrylic felt straight from the bolt. You could always use white just to be safe though.

[ValhallaLilly]

bump for awesome

[TwistedWindSox]

I used this last year, and my shelves look waaayyy better.
Thanks for transferring it over!