mokka

Hi there, The apse is topped by a pointed, tent-shaped roof. The removable roof module rests on a tiled surface: Supporting arches are covered with sandstone plates. This structure resembles the wooden framework of a roof or ship's hull. Not surprising, as the master builder of the Frauenkirche George Bähr was a carpenter by profession. For the half-round surface I used different slopes (standard, 15672, 28192) and some jumper plates. This combination leaves only small gaps remain between the partial areas. When the Frauenkirche was rebuilt, the weathered remains of the apse roof were stripped down to the elevation of the rain water gully. A water-tight seal was applied and the roof was covered with new sandstone plates. Dormer windows lighten the interior. Stairs inside the apse roof lead to the main dome. For sufficient headroom some of the 2x2x2 slopes are replaced by slanted bricks with cheese slopes below. You need to look closely to see the difference (-: Greetings, Justus Sorry, I did not take photos there. I found a nice video, made by PatSonBricks: Schwarzwälder Klötzlestage 2026 The Frauenkirche appears at 2:25 minutes.

Dear All, The upper part of the inner dome is attached to the floor of the main dome above. 16 wedges form a circular disc with center opening. This opening lets daylight shine from the main dome into the nave below. At first I built a spiderweb-like structure to find the matching points. The studs of the wedge plates meet in every 5th circle, where hinge plates are used to connect them. Different wedge plates are combined for minimum visible gaps in the floor. The wobbly disc is stiffened by the vertical walls of the main dome base. The main dome base does not match the grid of the dome ascent below. Therefore it is just set onto a layer of tiles and centered by the frieze, circling around the main dome base. The closed ring is remarkably stable. The studs of the lower inner dome segments are also covered with tiles. Now this is for the nerds The upper wall sections of the inner dome are attached to the main dome floor, using hinges. The ridges shown in the left picture had to be moved by 1/2 stud each, for a proper ratio between large and small wall panels (right picture). In the following, the areas between the ridges were filled again. The ceiling paining of the Frauenkirche shows the four Evangelists in the large panels of the inner dome. The allegories in the smaller panels in between symbolize Christian virtues. At first I transferred each painting to a mosaic grid The wall segments of the inner dome are two studs thick. With bricks, plates and tiles in sizes 1x1 and 1x2 plus some longer strips a stable structure was built, showing the colored pattern. Sloped bricks make smooth edges along the sides. The inner dome top fits seamless onto the lower wall segments of the inner dome. LED lighting illuminates the inner dome, from where the light is reflected into the nave. Removing the apse leaves a large opening for unobstructed view into the nave. The mirror image of the inner dome can be watched from a comfortable standing position. This setup was well received by the visitors of a convention last weekend. Greetings, Justus

Hello again, The inner dome with its fresco paintings roofs the nave, like a stone-made heaven. This impression is amplified by the bright daylight, shining through the large center light and the eight openings around the base. The inner dome vault reflects sounds back into the nave. Thanks to its good acoustics, the Frauenkirche is an excellent and popular concert hall. A tunnel circuit connects the staircase towers to the dormer houses in the side walls and the stairs, leading into the main dome. The inner dome circuit just above the transverse arches gives access to the rooms beyond, e.g. for inspection and maintenance of the anchoring system. The circular steps may have been used as seats or stands for musicians in former times, but I’m not sure about that. Whatever, the view into the nave from above must be phantastic! The lower half of the inner dome is formed by the inside surfaces of the dome ascent modules. Eight ridges divide the half sphere of the inner dome into four large faces and four small faces. Openings to the dormer houses and the staircase towers provide daylight and ventilation. The staircase towers on the east side are part of the visitors‘ way towards the main dome. The related openings of the inner dome are glazed for noise protection. The barrel vaults of the openings intersect with the spherical inner dome surface. Sloped bricks are used to reproduce the intersection curve. The curved wall segments are built with layers of bricks and plates. Plates, covered with tiles, reproduce the protruding ridges. For the model, the half sphere shape is approximated with 16 curved segments. After trying different ways to build the curve, I chose the solution shown on the left side of the images above. Every second or third layer is fixed with hinge plates to the backing. The gaps between the segments are filled with small panels, slopes and tiles. The modules must not get caught, when inserted or removed! Spotlights attached to the circuit railing illuminate the nave, e.g. during concerts. The stairs of the visitors’ path are visible behind the glazing of the large opening in the middle. Starts looking like a dome … The tan-colored areas will show ceiling paintings. More on that in the next episode Greetings, Justus

Dear All, From square to circle Thanks to its unique shape, the dome of the Frauenkirche is known as the “stone-made bell”. The curved roof ascends from the square outline of the nave to the circular dome. The roof surface is formed by sand stone plates, laid onto radial arches. The surface of the plates is curved in two ways: concave in radial direction and convex in circumference. The old masters shaped and fitted each plate individually, just using gauges and good sense of proportion. For the reconstruction, a 3D computer model and CNC mills were used to shape the stone plates with high precision. In the model, the eight modules A to H and the extensions of the pillars make a radial grid with 16 divisions: The ascending, concave outline within each division from A to H is formed by wall slices, covered with increasingly sloped bricks on the outside. The convex surface in circumference is reached by displacing the wall slices. Small offsets (½ stud sideways or 1 plate thickness in height) let the curved surface look smooth. This technique might also be useful for building hulls of ships. For reasons of stability, I did not build arches, but solid wall slices. The gaps are hidden under rectangular plates, attached to the extensions of the pillars. These plates, covered with tiles, represent the protruding strips (lesenes) which divide the dome outside into eight panels. The outer wall slices of the large modules B, D, F and H are in line with the grid of the adjacent small modules A, C, E and G. There are no visible gaps along the division lines. The roof above the apse was added later. It took some trial and error to find the proper outlines. Dormer houses are set into the North, South and West side of the dome ascent. Large windows let the daylight shine into the nave. Surfaces with little inclination and located in shadow areas don’t dry easily. Moisture and algae let the sandstone appear darker in these areas. The previous image shows the North side with slope bricks in dark colors in the lower part of the dome ascent. Rainwater gullies run along the square outline of the roof. Hidden behind a low sandstone ridge, they are not visible from outside. Rainwater leaking through the sandstone caused permanent moisture penetration inside the historic Frauenkirche. In the rebuilt sandstone roof, rainwater leaking through is caught by a waterproof seal underneath. The grey round plates 2x2 under the rainwater gully reproduce the water drain openings. Southwest view of the dome ascent, including the frieze underneath the circular cornice: The dome ascent modules also support the lower parts of the inner dome. Stay tuned ! Greetings, Justus

Dear friends of baroque style, Four spires surround the mighty dome of the Frauenkirche. In particular, I like their curved shape and the richly decorated roof tops. Besides their baroque appearance, the massively built spires are important elements of the structure: Their heavy weight diverts the horizontal loads from the dome’s weight downwards, like the pinnacles on top of the buttresses in gothic cathedrals. The spires used to provide ventilation by natural draught, like a chimney. At first, I took spoked wheels 30155 with tyres for the exhausts at the roof tops. Later the wheels were replaced by spoked hub caps 62701. When the church was rebuilt, a modern heating and ventilation system was installed. The spires are accessed from the staircase towers below. Inverted slopes reproduce the arched roofs of the staircases. They also fix the spire's position by fitting into the "negative shape" (left picture). Each spire contains a large chamber with a small chamber on top. Large chamber under construction: The lesenes along the curved outer edges are built with 2x2 corner and facet bricks, set into grooves. These bricks are held firmly in place by the brick layers above. The tower roofs intersect with the sloped surface, ascending towards the main dome. The bare stone roofs of the historic Frauenkirche were prone to weathering and needed frequent repair. The rebuilt roofs are protected with sheet lead, which is easy to shape and will not stand out against the sand stone. Light bl[uish gr]ey slopes indicate the sheet lead roofing. Fun fact: "bley" resembles ancient writing of the German word "Blei", which means ... lead. The small chamber in the southwest tower C holds the church clock with 3 dials. The oval frames of the dials and windows are reproduced with mudguards 50745. The spires C and E on the west side house 4 bells each. A test setup of the bell frame already exists: I hope, you enjoyed reading. Please keep watching. Greetings, Justus

Dear All, According to the original plans, the dome of the Frauenkirche should be a timber construction, covered with copper plating. Later this construction was replaced by the famous "stone-made bell", allegedly to save money. The builder George Bähr wanted to keep the light atmospere inside the nave without adding heavy visble structures: The idea was to combine the vertical load of the main dome with the sideward push from the inner dome. The horizontal component would distribute the massive weight of the dome on the pillars and the adjacent 16 wall slices. Unfortunately this brilliant but daring concept could not be realized in adequate quality with the means at that time. Construction was stopped in 1736, after irregular settlings of the foundations had caused cracks in the stonework, which left the slender pillars overloaded. Work on the dome was resumed 5 years later, after heated discussion and several improvements, e.g. iron reinforcements. Despite its structural weaknesses, the historic Frauenkirche stood for 200 years, albeit frequent repair was necessary. The structural stability of the rebuilt church is significantly improved, e.g. by better quality of the stonework inside the pillars. In addition, a tie anchor system was installed to convey the load from the dome’s weight in a controlled manner. A polygon of connecting rods surrounds the nave interior above the transverse arches. Tension rods tie the polygon to 16 reinforced concrete blocks. These anchor blocks are set on top of the wall segments between the pillars and the outside walls. Their surfaces are inclined normal to the flux of force, to avoid shear in the stone layers above. The tensioning system is reproduced with LEGO slopes and technic parts. Tightening is not possible, thus it is not functional. Nevertheless I didn't want to leave out this important technical feature. Thanks to the studs, shear is no issue when building with LEGO bricks. So long! Justus

@GameyRaccoon, I sort by part or type first. Large quantities of parts are then sorted by color or color group second. I prefer to store everything in one place, thus bags and boxes with overflow are included. My storage solution with two racks holds about 100 k of parts at present, with quite some space left. The racks can stand without wall mount. The shelves and trays are more than 1 foot deep, which provides much more volume than the small drawer boxes. Therefore, I think that even just 1 rack could hold 100 k. Greetings, Justus

And here we go again: The nave is enclosed by a pillar octagon. A further pair of pillars marks the transition from the chancel to the altar room. The distance between the pillars is wide around the main galleries B, D, F and even wider around the chancel for best possible viewing conditions. The shorter distances between the pillars in front of the staircase towers are beneficial, because the major part of the load from the dome’s weight is concentrated there. The nave side of the pillars has a colored marble structure painting. The sides of the chancel and apse pillars are also painted with strips of marble appearance. The pillar capitals are formed by two sills with colored areas in between. The lower sills are decorated with stucco ornaments and numerous cherubs. The pillar capitals were still existent in the apse ruin. No painting was added on the altar side, to show that the complete interior is a reconstruction, including the coloring. The gaps between the pillars are bridged by a row of alternating wide and narrow arches. These transverse arches, together with the pillars and the adjacent walls, bear the weight of the dome above. The inner surface of the arches is inclined towards the nave. This pendentive forms the transition from the pillar octagon to the circular base of the dome. A stable inverted U-shaped frame defines the outline of each arch. The arch itself is a chain of bricks, connected by hinges. Slopes 28192 reproduce the stucco edges of the arches and hide the irregular edges of the frames. Yellow tiles and plates indicate the baroque paintings and ornaments. The transverse arch elements stand on the tiled top surfaces of the pillar capitals without visible gaps. The arches get wider towards the outside, while their height does not increase – virtually not buildable. Therefore, each element consists of three individual arches. Finally, I ended up with this strangely shaped structure: The picture shows the view from below, with the arches standing upside-down. The roofs, ascending to the staircase towers are reproduced by two arches again. Large, vaulted roofs close the spaces between the arches and the outside walls. These roofs are built firmly into modules B, D, F, and H of the model. They also consist of several arches, fixed by a stable frame. Without this embedding everything would fall apart – no glue was used! In addition, the massively built box frames stabilize the structure of the side wall modules. The transverse arches are inserted from above with tight fit. Dome base level with completed arches and roofs: To be continued ... Greetings, Justus

Dear All, I just recently found this precious thread and read through all 39 pages. Why is it hidden in the technic subforum? There are so many beautiful and creative setups from small niches to extensive showrooms and "nerd spaces" - I love that expression Here is my basement LEGO room, where I spent many hours in the past 4 years: The building area has two desks, measuring 1,2 m x 0,8 m each. The tables can be placed freely within the room. I love to litter this large desk space during building and clean it up when finished. Any parts dropping down onto the parquet floor make an audible noise and are easy to find. This flooring is easy to clean and produces less dust than carpet. For my large MOC I built a moving table to have easy access to the section(s) currently built. The empty wall to the right makes a neutral background for photographs. Parts of the MOC are stored in boxes for transport to a LEGO convention in early May. The yellow crate with the wood plate on top serves as a step to reach greater heights (-: The room is illuminated by a 15 W LED lamp with daylight spectrum, mounted in the center of the ceiling. Additional light from a 9 W warm white LED lamp provides a more cosy atmosphere at the building desk. My storage solution and sorting system are described here. Thanks for watching, Justus

I like that - the concept seems to work (-; The mezzanine is the low storey above the large windows. A row of alternating rectangular and round windows extends around the building. Large oval windows in the gable sections flood the nave with daylight. Circular windows illuminate the staircase towers. On the west side, a large piece of the gable had fallen to the ground. The stones were cut out, restored and put back to their original position. An inverted LEGO 1 x 4 slope does not exist . Therefore, the complete arch under the gable is built upside-down with regular slopes. The entablature below the cornice is indicated with 1 x 1 round plates. The walls left and right of the oval window are decorated with protruding and recessed shapes. The facade ends with the attic balustrade above the cornice. The gables are crested with large vases. A circle of 16 1 x 2 bricks fits tightly into a frame of 4 quarter arches 1 x 5 x 4. Two more 1 x 2 bricks are added for the oval window frames. The curved cornice above the mezzanine window of the staircase tower E was hit by bombs in World War II. The damage was left visible in the ruin for remembrance.. The widely protruding cornice marks the top of the facade and provides some weather protection. The cornice roof is made from copper plates. Northeast view of the completed facade: The mezzanine windows weakened the structure of the apse roof. Therefore, they were closed with masonry already in the 18th century. The apse was split by the impact of the dome collapse in 1945. The gap was filled with new stones during the reconstruction. The Frauenkirche was built on a small plot of land within the densely built downtown area of Dresden. Thanks to the staircase towers placed at 45° angle, always three facades are visible from any position, despite little open space around. Looking forward to the next episode (-: Greetings, Justus

Dear All, The outer walls rose together with the seat rows. Thanks to the 1 : 54 model scale, each layer of LEGO bricks corresponds to one layer of stones in reality. After the collapse of the Frauenkirche in 1945, the apse and the northwest staircase tower remained standing as ruins. They were secured and included in the reconstructed building. Many original stones were recovered from the heap of rubble, repaired and put to their former location. Their dark colors contrast with the bright colors of the walls, built with new stones. Over the years the new sand stones will also become dark, due to chemical reactions. Yellow and black are classic LEGO colors, which are available in large bulks at cheap prices. That's why I chose them as the prevailing colors for the outside walls of my Frauenkirche model. Black and yellow are also the colors of Dresden The alternative color schemes with tan and brown or dark tan as prevailing colors would be more realistic though. The Frauenkrche has 7 entrances, labeled from A (southeast) to G (northeast). Main entrance D on the west side: Visitors pass the entrance hall on their way to the nave floor level. Office rooms are located to the right and left. North entrance F: The eastern side wall was pushed outside by the impact of the collapse. It was secured and kept in this leaning position as a reminder of the destruction. Stairs lead from the north and south entrance halls to the former catacombs at basement level. These rooms were sanctified as "Unterkirche" and already used for service and concerts while the reconstruction was still going on. Northeast entrance G: Each staircase tower has its own entrance. Entrance A and G are part of the visitors tour. Lifting ramps provide barrier-free access. 18 large windows illuminate the nave, the chancel and the staircase towers with daylight. Each window half is made of 3 x 6 transparent panels 87552. 3 panels turned to horizontal + 1 plate + 1 tile fit exactly into the 8 studs wide furrows along the window openings. The right proportions of the window framework were another reason for my selection of the 1 : 54 model scale The rounded side walls of the stair case towers and the apse are approximated with angled strips The apse walls are centered to the altar. They meet the east facade at an angle slightly bigger than 90°. Not easy to build, but important for the illusion of a half circle. Inside, the angled walls let the chancel appear bigger (deeper) than it is. The walls of the chancel module slide into furrows, thus no gaps are visible, neither inside, nor outside. The half arches above the windows on the inside and on the east facade, including the apse are built with LEGO arches. The double half arches on the other facades are brick-built to resemble the wedge-shaped structure of real arches. The LEGO flowers 30657 and 98262 serve well as ornaments for the pilaster capitals, but apart from blue they are not available in dark colors. No problem, because none of the original flower ornaments is undamaged (-: The ruin of the northwest staircase tower E is leaning to the outside. After the structural stability had been confirmed, it was secured and left in this position. The surrounding walls were built vertical. There is an offset of 25 cm at the top between the ruin walls and the new stonework (0,5 studs in model scale). To be continued ... Greetings, Justus

Dear All, My LEGO storage solution is built with 2 racks from the old IKEA EXPEDIT series. The new KALLAX series with the same compartment size would work as well. Each shelf has 4 x 4 compartments, which are further divided in 2 or 3 drawers. Strips of particle wood set the height for the lower shelves and serve as guides for the cardboard trays. The trays are filled with cans and boxes of various sizes. Thanks to my volunteers the supply does not end (-: The sharp edge is removed with a can opener. Any remaining burrs are smoothed using the steel rod with rounded tip. This facilitates filling and emptying the cans and minimizes the risk of cutting my fingers. Each tray contains parts of one size or type. Depending on their quantity and size, the parts within one tray can be further sorted by color. Frequently used parts are put on the front end of the drawers. Drawers with frequently used part types or sizes are preferrably put at levels which are easy to reach. Following these basic rules, my sorting scheme has developed as follows: Bricks, plates and tiles are placed by type / width in rows and by length in columns. The left bottom drawers contain miscellaneous stuff and overflow, sorted out from bulk orders. This sorting system is working well for me: - big storage capacity (well more than 100 k of parts), because the full 40 cm depth of the shelf is used - high versatility thanks to variable arrangement of the trays and use of cans with various sizes - easy access - single cans or complete trays can be taken to the building table - the cats are well-fed and happy (-: Greetings, Justus

Hello Again, It's time for some details. Let's start with the seats and galleries. Each seat element consists of plates, bricks and jumpers. The seats can be placed at the same level (nave) or in ascending rows (galleries). Back rests and railings are formed by tiles, fixed with brackets or SNOT bricks. The clear distance between the tiles is a little more than 2,5 studs - enough space to sit down. The brick-built figures are between 9 plates and 11 plates tall, corresponding to a 1,55 m to 1,90 m range in 1 : 54 scale. This matches well the typical size of adults. Some elements are offset or become wider towards the outside. These wedges can be arranged in curved rows with only small gaps in between. A frame of wedge plates and cheese slopes holds the seat elements in place. All nave seats with surrounding frame fit onto a 48 x 48 baseplate, which facilitates transport a lot. All stairs, floors and seats are studded, thus people can walk, stand or sit on them. Floor level seats during the build: The nave is surrounded by a wall with windows and access from the 7 entrance doors A to G. The rooms behind were used by well-to-do people to keep their privacy during service or concert events. Nowadays they provide space for offices and facilities. Another ring of booths at raised level is still being used as "VIP lounges". The ring is approximated by several sections, attached to the pillars and partly connected by hinge plates. The section divisions were tricky to build, while keeping the regular pattern of ornaments and windows. Many wedge plates were needed for the floor and the roof. The roof is covered with tiles wherever possible. Unavoidable studs are hidden under spotlights. Lounge gallery completed: A circular hallway connects the staircase towers to the rooms on the lounge floor level: - booths (lounge gallery) - conference rooms (north and south) - rest rooms (west) The seats are stacked at several levels, like in a theater or opera house. Thanks to this arrangement the historic Frauenkirche held 3500 seats, crammed on a small ground surface. The rebuilt church still offers 2000 seats with more comfortable dimensions. Most of them provide direct view towards the chancel. Apart from daylight, the only source of light were chandeliers attached to the pillars. Today the nave can be illuminated by a sophisticated lighting system, e.g. during TV broadcasts. A circuit connects the staircase towers to the first gallery level. Small stairs along the pillars lead to the seat rows and the chorus stand. Most seats are located in the western half of the building (left side of the picture). Therefore, the western towers C and E have double-flight staircases to avoid crowding. On the east side, single-flight staircases are sufficient. An elevator in the northeastern tower G facilitates the ascend to the dome for visitors. The second gallery level looks similar to the first. Cloak rooms are located at the north, south and west sides. The central seat element of each section is fixed to the railing. The ends of the railing rest in recesses in the pillars. The side seat elements with the small stairs are supported by the railing and the columns of round 1x1 bricks. Looks a bit flimsy, but is sufficiently stable. No parts have been glued! The third gallery level is cut out on the north, south and west side to let as much daylight as possible shine into the nave. Steep and narrow stairs lead from the staircase towers to the seats of the third and fourth gallery. The elevation of the upper galleries is approx. 28 m above street level. That's a sportive climb, comparable to the 8th floor of a modern apartment building! Nevertheless the complete nave can be evacuated within less than 15 minutes, thanks to the four ample staircase towers. Total view of the completed seat rows: Glass separating walls shield the nave against noise and draught from the staircase towers. See you soon, Justus

Dear All, Thanks a lot for your very positive feedback. It's my pleasure to continue this thread. Right now the model is dismantled to prepare transport to an exhibition in early May. A good opportunity to show the basic modular structure of the nave. Overall layout Facade modules B - D - F - H Two walls connect each pillar to the outside wall, forming a stable frame. The staircase towers A - C - E - G slide into the diagonal gaps. Modules B - D - F Openings in the staircase tower walls lead to circuits on the gallery levels. Module interface northeast tower G - facade H - staircase and elevator sliding doors - balconies for visitors ("beehive wall") provide direct view into the chancel Module interface southwest tower C - west facade D Southwest staircase C - removable facade - double-flight stairs South facade B - removable center projection - entrance hall with access to nave and basement - conference room in first floor - galleries - cloak room in third floor - arched roof I hope, that these pictures have given you some insight into the structure. Greetings Justus

What an awesome building with soo many beautiful details! I like the dynamic setting off the rectangular grid. The round towers and the gate arch are fantastic. The tiles make a very realistic texture of the stonework. My favourite is the X-shaped timber framing, done with the cheese slopes. The snotted wooden floors are great, too. The janitor is keeping the lawn impeccable (-: Will you add some weeds?