Tag Archives: Ralf Langer

Elope with me, or in this case erow with me

Leave it to to Ralf Langer to draw inspirations from pirates and turn it into a surreal work of art using LEGO as the medium. We see two figures in a boat rowing across the sea. In the middle of the sea there is a square frame almost like a window in a wall.

The surreal "Sea"cret hideout

We can see two of the four sides of the frame and they show us two completely different worlds. One of them is a Tudor style building that we’ve come to know and love when it comes to Ralf Langer creations. The other one is a stone temple hidden in the midst of an enchanted forest. The two figures in the rowing boat represent inhabitants from these worlds. This is highly interpreted but my guess is they are lovers from two different worlds who are eloping. I might have over romanticised this a bit though.

A reflection of the past

Bound within the limits of an old ring, this art nouveau inspired scene by Builder Ralf Langer is an improvised snapshot into a fantasy world. This master of scenery shows us yet again why he’s gained such a legendary status amongst the community. His style is instantly recognizable, especially if you’re familiar with his past works which feature such bright pink, finned trees as we see here, or intricate, almost gravity defying, buildings with life-like stonework. Wanting to work in some Jugendstil ornamentation, the Germanic parallel to Art Nouveau styles between 1895 and 1910, Ralf started with the windows and used thread with stud parts to create curvy and loopy decorations. After abandoning a handful of tower designs that looked like they came from a galaxy far, far away he settled one with a thin, wispy elegance. The fragility of both structures is only visual while the tree itself apparently needs a hidden Ninjago Spinner as a counterweight under the reflective surface of the pool. Another strong suit of Ralf’s is using the sheen of our favorite plastic playthings in a way that isn’t directly obvious. Here he forces our perspective of the flat sides of the sand green bricks he used in the pool so that we see the buildings and the trees reflected in its surface. Bits of blue and white are worked in to break up the monotony and he even adds some red and pink near the tree to help the reflection of the tree’s leaves.

The pool

While the greebly ring may be the remnants of his old Halo ring build, Ralf still proves his inventiveness with ornamental statues and sculptures at the base and tops of the two towers. As usual, his strong suit as a builder is making us all scratch our heads at how his work is even possible. I mean, he even tells us that the ring needs an extra frame to hold its structure until the whole thing has been built. That’s a level of dedication that few of us have the space to commit. Keep up the awesome work, Ralf.

Medieval technical masterpiece

What would have happened if a medieval city grew as dense as modern cities? Ralf Langer builds us a picture of what it might have been like with this set of wonderful LEGO medieval buildings. Now I will confess up front that I’m not much of a medieval buff so I’m sure I would butcher any attempt to discuss the historical accuracy of these buildings. That said, what I do know is building techniques. And this is full of them! One of my favorites is the use of brown tread links to create the wooden supports slotting in between the curved white slopes of the walls. The rock work on the lower walls in superb as well, Ralf does a great job creating fairly random structure that gives great depth. Great stuff here, and it’s worth checking this out in greater detail!

The city - spreading like a desease

Cresting the wave of a pirate’s life

Beware any ship what flies the crimson flag! This LEGO ship by Ralf Langer sails on the crest of two seas, ever searching for more riches. The ship is beautifully crafted, but make no mistake–this is a pirate ship! Besides, who says pirates can’t have nice things? The ship is loosely inspired by the Golden Hind, the galleon captained by Sir Francis Drake during his circumnavigation of the globe in the late 16th century. The sails are brick built, allowing for greater detail to capture the way they catch the wind. The ship itself sits atop two curved LEGO seas, elements reused from some of Ralf’s past builds. One has a town under threat of cannon fire, while the other has water stained with blood and a town burning from a pirate attack. The captain’s quarters bear remarkable stained glass windows, and that intricate detailing in the ship’s woodwork is exquisite!

The "Death of a Sailsman" - Model view

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The enchanting Devil’s Bridge

Ralf Langer tells us that he has built a LEGO version of the Rakotzbrücke in Germany and I was like; yep, you totally pulled that off nicely, dude. It looks just like it! Pretending I knew what I was talking about lasted nearly five seconds before I turned to Google to figure out; what the heck is a Rakotzbrücke? It turns out it’s a man-made bridge that was built over a lake in Kromalu Park. The arched bridge is designed to create a perfect circle when it reflects in the still waters below. It’s also known as the Devil’s Bridge due to the belief that the magical circle must be the hands of the devil. Oh, cool! Now we all know something. I’m loving the dark still water and the overall dreadful mood of this eerie creation.

DevilsBridge

The Halo ring world has us all running in circles

Sometimes one good idea spawns another. My case in point, this LEGO Halo ring world built by Ralf Langer. It is chock full of great tricky techniques to build this ring and I could get lost in all the details and the landmasses. We’d be impressed enough if this occurred as a creative anomoly but in the very capable hands of Ralf this is not the case. Back in June we featured a seascape on a curved horizon. In March of 2020 we see Ralf employing the same techniques with a scene from Fallout that made the social media cover image for that month. Both, it would seem, were mere practice runs for this stunning Halo ring. If you have a hankering for all things Halo you may want to click the little blue link. And be sure not to miss another builder’s prior Halo ring world featured way back in 2012.

Halo ring world

Rising from the ash and fog is this incredible collection of LEGO buildings

If you’re looking for a LEGO masterclass in weathered architecture, Ralf Langer is your guy. He’s created a plethora of beautifully detailed buildings, structures, and scenes. He also kindly shares tips on how to achieve the techniques on his social media. This exquisite group of conjoined buildings is his latest addition, and it doesn’t disappoint! With a gothic vibe, they transform from a crumbling base into a colorful block you might like to visit.

to the sky

Right now, Ralf doesn’t have many pictures available for this build. But as you can see, he uses a variety of cool techniques and color combos to achieve the vibe he’s looking for. These structures include great shaping tools, like hinges, hoses, arches, and even some minifigure posing handles. Even the sides less visible are stunning! There are loads of random tidbits that are worth a zoom-in, but one of my favorite part usages is the unique design created with mini copper Exo-Force legs. Gorgeous!

While you’re here, stick around for more of Ralf’s work. And if this isn’t your style, try out some other great architectural builds we’ve featured!

Small columns never looked so good

Here at TBB, we feature all sorts of incredible LEGO builds from all sorts of incredible builders. We’ve seen equally awesome techniques on tiny creations as we have on giant ones. We’ve also seen hundreds of superb towers, pillars, and columns, and in fact, several of them are from this same builder, Ralf Langer. But I particularly appreciate these pillars, at this scale, because Ralf uses simple techniques to produce something awesome. Twisting the internal structure to alternate those pentagonal tiles is truly eye-catching. And the rest just sets it off perfectly.

IMG_4093

There are several cool techniques here, but I’m sure plenty of us are making a mental note right now about those columns. I see you over there, trying to consider the reverse engineering so you can borrow it later! Just make sure to give him credit, and while you’re at it, take a moment to appreciate some of Ralf’s other builds.

The rise and fall of a LEGO castle in four seasons

Given the challenge of building a castle scene depicting the four seasons, most builders would go the traditional route of spring, summer, fall, and winter… there is nothing wrong with that, but these four builders took a very different approach. A collaboration between Brickleas, Simon Hundsbichler, Jonas Kramm, and Ralf Langer. They each choose a season, and built a partial view of a castle, adding a temporal, metaphorical twist to the seasons, depicting birth in the spring, prime in the summer, decline in the fall and death in the winter.

The four Seasons

Keep reading to see more details about each build

Precariously perched upon the precipice

Usually, floating islands include, well, an island. Something in the way of solid ground, albeit ground that floats mysteriously above the clouds. Not so with this stone tower topped with a timber-framed structure by Ralf Langer, who took a minimalist approach to the base of the model. There’s nothing minimal about the rest of the building, from the cracked and weathered stone base featuring unconventionally colored doors, all the way up to the black roof with a scattering of quarter tiles which provide a great texture.

Living on the edge

Sailing the open “C”

Ralf Langer is on a roll. Using a technique he’s employed previously in some sci-fi builds, Ralf has created a gorgeous display piece worthy of a shelf in any captain’s quarters. And, while the shape of the build is bound to monopolize your attention, there are some smaller details here that are worthy of a second look. I particularly like the way he’s used color beneath the transparent light blue tiles. The ocean gets darker the further out from the land masses you go, creating a sense of ever deepening water. If you’d like a chance to build this yourself, you can sail over to the LEGO Ideas site to lend your support.

Land Ahoy!

Let’s go window shopping

Ralf Langer teased us a while ago with the stern of a beautiful LEGO ship. In the comments he mentioned that it was actually never going to be a full ship, but a city made out of ship parts. And here it is in all it’s gloomy glory. This creation might as well be called a study of ship windows as are several lovely techniques for you to choose from. Let’s zoom in on them.

Arrr

Both brown ships feature the same technique using a net between a layer of trans plates and trans tiles. This creates a stained glass effect which is just stunning. A lot of variation in colour can be achieved by using different colored trans elements. The dark brown ship with the blue glass windows uses a different technique. Here we have the 1967 fence filled with bars stuck through a technic pin.

The last window technique I want to highlight is the one on the building on the right. It uses small smooth tires filled with trans cheese slopes. This city of ships also features a lot of cleverly designed lanterns with some clever parts usage. I can spot wands, link chain and link tread. The only question I have now is: Will this connect to my Ninjago City?