LEGO Ideas Viking Village – Preview

We all pine for a bit of the Viking lifestyle now and again. Enjoying the fresh sea air as you cross the North Sea to invade the English coastline. Pillaging a few fishing villages. Pestering the Saxons and giving King Alfred the Great a few headaches. Building a mighty longhouse where the skalds assemble to relay epic songs of valour while you take a sip from your drinking horn beside a roaring fire.

From 1 October 2023, LEGO fans will be able to collect and construct their very own waterside village following the reveal of the latest LEGO IDEAS set – Viking Village 21343. Congratulations go to German Ideas fan BrickHammer, who designed the winning entry, announced in 2022 after several re-submissions. That’s perseverance for you – may Odin favour this mighty MOC enthusiast!

Who Were The Vikings?

The life of a Viking has been popularised by everything from Assassin’s Creed to heavy metal music to TV shows such as The Last Kingdom and Vikings. But putting aside the fantasy elements, who were they?

In reality, the legendary Scandinavian seafarers were about a lot more than just raiding. They had their own distinctive art and architecture and many forward-thinking approaches (for the time!) to lawmaking and culture. Once the invaders had settled and been accepted in new lands, they brought new traditions, trade and construction techniques with them.

The classic architectural features that defined Viking buildings were the use of timber frames, thatched roofs, wattle walls and stone flooring. From outside, the exteriors of many holds often resembled upside-down Viking longboats and ships.

LEGO IDEAS Viking Village 21343

£124.99

The new 2,103-piece model is considered part of the LEGO Sets for Adults collection, though we suspect that children would also love to get their hands on this play-and-display build. The set aims to transport enthusiasts back to the Viking Age with a small village with a watchtower, chieftain’s longhouse, blacksmith’s smith, and various waterways for the villagers to traverse.

There’s a Valhalla-worthy haul of delightful details in this connectable model. Look out for the flame-billowing function on the forge, a Medieval shield featuring Odin’s twin ravens and wolves, and plenty of wooden storage barrels piled up to store the mead. One of our favourite sections is the rope bridge leading to a small lookout post situated on a rock beside the ocean – a perfect spot to place one of the minifigures as they watch out for passing ships.

The longhouse has a removable roof, revealing wintery interiors complete with cooking fires, a warlord’s seat, and plenty of room for a feast. The smithy also has a detachable roof, so admirers can take a closer look at the forge and the mining cave behind.

The set comes with 4 LEGO Minifigures – an archer, shield-maiden, chieftain and blacksmith – more than enough characters to bring the village scene to life. LEGO display fanatics might consider adding their own expanded ocean section, which would provide ideal space for the LEGO Creator Viking Ship and Midgard Serpent 31132 set.

What Music Should You Listen To While Building Viking LEGO?

Well, we’re glad you asked! The only appropriate symphony of choice is Swedish melodic-metal band Amon Amarth, whose Viking-inspired hits include Guardians of Asgaard, The Pursuit of Vikings, Twilight of the Thunder God, and Raise Your Horns.

Skål!