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In lugnet.trains, Reinhard "Ben" Beneke writes:
>
> Hi folks!
>
> I got a scan of a newspaper concerning a 51 years old Lego fan, who has
> built a whole town in his subterrain rooms. Now he has come out and shows his
> stuff including some train layout in a museum (he owns one to two million
> bricks in total).
>
> http://www.f5.parsimony.net/forum5725/messages/6803.htm
>
> I don't know how, but Lego got aware of this collector two years ago and they
> invited him to Billund, where two employees of the Lego Company talked for
> hours with him.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ben
Following is my attempt at the translation. Comments between parentheses are
my own words. The rest of the translation is a bit loose in some sentences.
Read well,
Andreas Stabno
http://www.megsinet.net/~stabno/SimiLego.htm
Winfried Ballmann in his little empire
The little basement Lego-World
Winfried Ballmann builds it
Bitter tongues will claim that Winfried Ballmann never grew up. And that is
good. When the 51 year-old climbs down the steps to his favorite room in the
basement, he finds himself in 17th Century Copenhagen. Or in medieval
England. Or in a Legoworld of 30 square meters (around 320 square feet).
Winfried Ballmann is a collector, Lego builder, and most of all a fanatic of
order (a compartmentalized dork?) There isn't an islander head or 6-stud
brick that doesn't have its own place in the countless drawers and
closets. "There are one, maybe two million pieces" he guesses. Acquired
through flea markets, through extensive Internet research, or simply through
acquaintances who emptied their garage. Accumulated by need.
A Lego city sits on a large board in the middle of the basement. Ballmann's
treasures, like the imposing Danish Manor, have a worthy place in a display
case. Items that could not be stowed in the subterranean Lego World of Rumeln-
Kaldenhausen, are found in nearly every room of the house. "Meanwhile, this
hobby has taken on dimensions that aren't simply to overcome", explains the
mini-construction expert.
Not only dimensions of space, but also of time and expenditures. "Often I buy
a box of discarded material. It gets cleaned and sorted." He approximates
the value of his collection at 80,000 DM (around $37,000) You shouldn't spend
more than 120 Mark ($55) per box." Ballmann frequently gets ideas for his
model from vacation pictures. Two years of construction time for each work is
not unusual. "I've been working on a skyscraper for four years. It's now
already 1.50 meters tall (5 feet)."
Crazy? Or just the child inside? Winfried Ballmann explains the
statistics: "Germany is the Lego stronghold. More than 90% have played with
it at one time or another. The term is better known than Helmut Kohl or Franz
Beckenbauer." The man from Rumeln began 16 years ago.
A pedant? Surely not! Rather someone who always rolled up the tube of
toothpaste instead of squishing it from the middle. Someone who loves
order. "Otherwise I would drown without mercy." Ballmann also states: "I
approach everything with the highest degree of concentration." This means:
Either read or listen to music - or work with Lego. Never two things at once.
Ballmann's work was even honored in the birthplace of Lego. "Two years ago I
received an invitation to the headquarters of the company in Billund,
Denmark. Two workers spent five hours with my wife and myself."
The 51 year-old does not want to withhold his pride from the public either.
Following smaller exhibitions in an elementary school, library, and the
Duisburg city works department, comes a larger project with the Goch Museum.
Dr. Stephan Mann, director of the Goch Museum says: "Impressive, this
repertoire of Herr Ballmann." And he is glad to have attracted the man from
Rummeln for the "Lego-World - Play with Imagination" exhibition. The show
runs from June 7th through September 17th in Goch "On the Wall" in the newly
restored museum hall in the "Family Center." Tuesdays through Fridays 11am-
7pm, Children 4 Mark ($2), Adults 6 Mark ($2.75). On May 11th, students of
St. Georg Elementary School and the Dutch sister school will paint and
construct for the museum on a Lego theme.
Stephan Mann comments on the exhibition: "Certainly something unique for the
region. Without help from the city, this would not have been possible."
Winfried Ballman loans a Lego train including city spanning 18 square meters
(190 square feet). For this Lego is built up in his story. Tours for school
classes by appointment.
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Message is in Reply To:
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| Hi folks! I got a scan of a newspaper concerning a 51 years old Lego fan, who has built a whole town in his subterrain rooms. Now he has come out and shows his stuff including some train layout in a museum (he owns one to two million bricks in (...) (24 years ago, 10-May-00, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.town) !
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