Nostalgia is a wonderful thing and for LEGO® fans it fuels fond memories of bygone themes. So much so some of those much-loved themes have returned. Whilst Classic Space, Castle and Pirates are often the go-to themes for remakes or newer sets inspired by them, this latest Ideas release takes inspiration from a lesser-known past LEGO theme – Vikings. The LEGO Vikings theme was short-lived and only included a few sets, but they were a rather impressive collection of builds inspired by medieval Scandinavian explorers with close ties to the homeland of the LEGO Group. Here’s a closer look at the 51st LEGO Ideas set – The Viking Village.
Product Details
Take a trip back in time as you build and explore this richly detailed LEGO® Ideas Viking Village (21343) play-and-display model. An ideal gift for history-lovers, it features 3 connectible sections with a blacksmith’s smithy, chieftain’s longhouse and a watchtower, plus blacksmith, chieftain, shield-maiden and archer minifigures to bring the scene to life.
Revel in the details
Discover delightful features such as the blacksmith’s forge with a flame-billowing function, shields printed with Odin’s 2 ravens and 2 wolves, the chieftain’s throne, a bridge to the watchtower and a cave for mineral mining. And look out for brick-built references to classic LEGO Vikings sets. There are instructions in the box and on the LEGO Builder app to guide you through every step of the mindful creative experience.
- Set Name: Viking Village
- Set Number: 21343
- Theme: LEGO Ideas
- Pieces: 2103
- RRP: £124.99/$129.99/139.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 15
- Stickers: N/A
- Minifigures: Vikings x 4
- Insiders QR: Yes
- Instructions: Paper Booklets x 4 + Builder App
- Availability: LEGO Stores & LEGO Online from October 1st
The set is inspired by the original fan design created by BrickHammer. But the journey to become a LEGO set has been a little different than most others. The original submission was back in 2020 and although it never made it beyond the review stage, an updated version was resubmitted in 2022. Again it didn’t make the cut but that wasn’t the end of the story. The Viking Village was one of three previous 10k fan projects chosen to get a second chance to become a site via a partnership with US retailer Targets. After a fan vote, the Viking Village was chosen to become a future Ideas set. As with many of the LEGO Ideas sets, a few changes have been made to the original design, but the final set isn’t too different from BrickHammer’s second submission.
Although the instructions continue with the somewhat boring plain covers, the inside is a little more exciting. There are a few pages detailing historical facts about Viking culture along with an introduction to the fan designer behind the original concept and the LEGO Ideas Design Team who helped to craft it into the final set.
Compared to the fan design, the Viking Village is a little more spacious thanks to it being split over three sections. These each clip together to create a larger footprint of the set. This offers the ability for the different sections to be displayed separately but they look far better combined. Each section focuses on a different aspect of Viking culture including their expertise in forging weapons, the hall where they meet or the chief holding court and a lookout tower to spot any distant dangers.
It’s certainly a detailed build and requires lots of small elements to craft some of those intricate features, both on the building and the surrounding scenery. Because of this, it can be a little fiddly in places and time-consuming but the end result is certainly worth it. The extra detail is most apparent on the building with little flourishes such as framing around windows and the roofs which certainly benefit from a combination of smaller elements.
There are a few decorated pieces in the set, but not a single sticker in sight. All the elements which include extra detailing are printed. These include the trim on the buildings, a welcome stone located near the entrance to the village and best of all a stack of barrels that feature a familiar logo.
You can access the interior of buildings by removing the roof sections of the forge and longhouse, as well as the wall panel on the watch-out tower. This reveals even more details. If you’ve built the 90th Anniversary Castle set, it is a similar build to that, especially with the separate sections and the base. This offers a unique appearance but as with the castle, moving it around could see parts of the base become easily dislodged. So recommend building on a flat surface and having somewhere for it to be displayed pre-planned out.
You can’t have a Viking Village without a few Vikings to populate it and the set includes four Viking characters. There are two male and two female Vikings, each offering unique torsos and thankfully printed legs which I think was definitely needed to recreate the Viking’s layered outfits. Two of them are sporting horned helmets which are often associated with Vikings but they are a little odd as they sit rather high on the heads and they lack hair. I think I prefer the helmet used for the Viking character in the 20th series of Collectible Minifigures. Yet I can see why the classic helmets were used due to their iconic association with the Vikings.
Overall
The Vikings might not be as fondly remembered as Castle, Space and Pirates are but the original sets were quite cool. This set does a great job of capturing the style of those past sets and updating them for a far more intricate build experience. I love all the small details found throughout the set, especially a little Easter Egg harking back to the 2005 sets. I must admit some parts of the build are a little fiddly and as a result, the build can be rather time-consuming but the end result is worth it. I would also say it needed a couple more minifigures and a few animals. With only four minifigures included in the set, they almost get lost against the highly detailed surroundings and the lack of even one creature is a shame. The set was never going to resurrect the goat, but a couple of chickens or something would have been fun. Most of all it’s nice to see the fan project that has gained the required support from LEGO fans not once but twice, finally become a set. There is obviously an interest in Vikings and now people can experience them again in brick-form. Plus it’s has a great price point and thanks it it not being tied to a licence. This makes in two LEGO Ideas in a row which buck the trend and provide a decently priced set and a fun build experience.
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The LEGO Group provided this set for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
