Would you like the Vikings theme to return?

[ED-209]

Thanks for the input Alfadas, and for such kind praise!

I don't know if the Vikings would have made a palisade around only one building, but I can't see why it wouldn't have been possible! And I think regardless of the historical accuracy of it, the needs of the model would be best met by a single house attached to the back wall of the fort. So that's what I'll aim for.

Cook, you're quite right about the piece count. And I must say, I'm finding it really difficult to keep it down - I have a new respect for TLG's set designers now! If this were the kind of thing that were ever to go into production I think it would either have to be made smaller, or possibly the moulding of new parts might help? Putting all those 1x1 tan cones across the tops of the walls made me wish there was a 1x4 brick that was moulded to look like four spikes. It could be used as claws or teeth in other sets even? Anyway, I do agree with you but I can't really figure out how to reduce the piece count without sacrificing too much of my vision. If I put the project on Lego Ideas and ever made it to the consideration stage, I might have to leave the part-pruning to the professionals!

I always loved the modularity of the old 80s castles, and I'm definitely channelling a little of that here. There are plenty of other Viking trades/crafts that could make for some nice MOCs, but unless they heavily feature action/conflict I can't see TLG really considering them. But I did make a blacksmith and fishing boat earlier in the thread, and tried to put a bit of action into the sets. Just brainstorming: other things could be a weaver at a loom, a tanner, fabric-dyer, carpenters/woodcarvers, ship-builders, various farmers, hunters, traders, jewellers, etc. There could be sets themed around an event, a feast with meats over a big firepit and barrels of mead and ale. A viking funeral, either an elaborate ship set ablaze, or a simpler burial with a bunch of grave goods (they often placed stone markers around a grave to create the outline of a ship).

I'd not thought of it before but you're also quite right about the number of printed colours on the minifigs. I'll have to keep that in mind in future.

I also tweaked the shape of the eyepatch as you suggested. I think this is an improvement:

[Alfadas]

That viking looks awesome!

Continuing the brainstorm: Hunters sound nice! With a new mold for a deer or moose, or the polar bear from that arctic city theme. Armed with fur over leather or mail, a spear and dagger or bow and arrow . Included in the set would be a small tree that collapses, two generic viking hunters, the deer or moose (polar bear doesn't really match with trees). But that set might be a little to aggressive and aimed for kill, that it might not be such a good idea. But it would surely make for a good set, IMO. Unfortunately I don't have the polar bear, or any bear, or the skills and parts to make a deer, so I am going to make a scene with just to vikings, a falling tree and a horse replacing the deer. Pics will be up when I got the time to build the scene (should be within 2 weeks).

Edited June 15, 2014 by Alfadas

[Giantorange]

Definately would like them back.

Not too keen on any more catapults or dragons though, I have plenty of those.

I wouldn't mind seeing a Narwhal or a World Serpent (brick built - I'm not a massive fan of large moulded monsters).

Or a log cabin, a fishing scene would be good. How about Loki v Thor (not Marvel style). A bearded Viking with warhammer and lightning pieces could look great.

[ED-209]

Maybe hunters would be a little too violent, but perhaps some sort of forest scene without the bow and arrow? Keep the deer, and add a couple of mushrooms to be gathered up? Or apples perhaps? I think the apple would be a bit too big, but I wonder if the cone+dish mushroom would fit in one of these baskets?

The mushroom gatherer could be a man or a woman, a boy or a girl. Either way it would be easy to add your own archer to the set if your Vikings felt like some venison with their mushrooms!

In fact, there is the reindeer in this year's Christmas set if you're looking for an idea on how to make one (I think its head is made from a Star Wars battledroid torso with a 1x1 brick for a snout):

You're right of course that the polar bear wouldn't really be in a wooded area, but it's such a great piece that it'd be worth coming up with some sort of excuse to use it somewhere! Maybe a couple of vikings travel north to buy furs from some Sámi trappers when they get attacked by a bear?

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with Alfadas!

I agree with you Giantorange, I'm not too keen on seeing more catapults and dragons either. But that being said, if they did make a new viking range I'd still buy everything and just omit the dragons!

A narwhal is a really good idea! I wonder if a new head piece for the old Pirates shark would be a cost effective way of doing it? They made a sawfish head that way. I believe there was a brick-built World Serpent in the original Viking range? Doesn't mean they couldn't do it again of course. What about a giant squid and/or a kraken?

I made a mythological Thor minifig ages ago (when TLG first released those little goats!), and made a simple little brick-built Mjölnir for him like this:

[Alfadas]

Thanks for the ideas Ed, now to make them real . The deer in the winter village set are nice, but look kinda weird. I'd rather have a mold, like the horse or warg or bear. That looks way more realistic. But these are only ideas, nobody knows if TLG will make them real, so I guess a brickbuilt one is also good. BTW, Mjölnir looks nice! And indeed, in the set with the viking ship there is Jörmungandr, the Mitgard or world snake. He still looks amazing, so do the dragons.

[Blakstone]

I would rather have a mold than a brick built deer. The polar bear mold was the same as the grizzly bear from the Forest sets a couple of years back.

Still I think ED-209 should go for an IDEAS entry. Many set ideas can go into the entry to gather the interest of folks but in the end, he would have to select one set for approx $50 or less to be reviewed. An IDEAS set could have several new Vikings minifig prints but they would not make new molds for helmet, deer / elk, or anything else.

If you do submit an entry, I would volunteer to help promote it. I think submissions hit 10,000 a lot quicker if they can draw non LEGO fans into the system. We may be able to tap into fans of the Vikings TV show as well as other history fans.

[Calanon]

I'd prefer a mould to a brick-built deer too.

I really would love a return to Vikings, preferably with non-horned helmets too for variety. And the newer shields and swords will be so much better too.

[Ardelon]

I'd prefer a mould to a brick-built deer too.

I really would love a return to Vikings, preferably with non-horned helmets too for variety. And the newer shields and swords will be so much better too.

Agreed with everything.

But Im afraid TLG will keep on using the horned helmets to tap into the pop-culture recognizability of Vikings, like they did up to now. Funny, I would think they would like to present a more accurate picture of their heritage...

[ED-209]

Oh I'd certainly like a moulded deer too, I was just offering an "official" brick built option as it's probably the best we can do at the moment. Although there is a small fawn from the Friends range:

I think it would scale correctly with a minifig, so it may be useful. Although to be honest I prefer the boxier look often present in Lego animals. To me they're somewhat reminiscent of Scandinavian flat-plane wood carving, but perhaps I'm reading too much into things!

Blackstone, thank you for the offer of support; I'd love to go for a Lego Ideas entry! One problem is that of course the Ideas entry has to be a single set/model, not a whole theme like we've been discussing - so what set would be the best to propose? Something that adequately captures the Viging feel, and is marketable enough to gain 10,000 supporters (and marketable enough from Lego's perspective to produce). Does anyone have any ideas? A longship seems to me to strike the right chord, but would probably be too similar to their earlier longship set, and would certainly be more expensive than $50 (which the track record suggests wouldn't help things).

I'm sure TLG would continue with the horned helmets. The reality is they're a business and that means selling what people/kids expect vikings to look like, regardless of the reality. But then I switched all mine for Brickforge helmets, so I'd just do that again I suppose!

[Blakstone]

ED-209, projects that are under review often have many sets in them. But as they approached the 10,000 supports, the LEGO Bird Project, for example, picked three to showcase out of twenty eight. Even Approved projects such as the Research Institute (formerly Female Minifig Project) has many vignettes.

I think you could generate a lot of excitement by starting your project with a wide variety of Viking themed builds. Then you can whittle down to the actual one to use. I see that many use their Ideas supporters to help with that project.

If I had to pick, I think your fishing boat and cove would make best stand alone set. Boats are strongly affiliated with Vikings. I like the fortified build you are currently working on, but I think it would need to be in a larger wave to immediately read as Viking.

[Infernum]

Yes! I'd love for Vikings to come back! I really wish LEGO had made a theme that would latch onto the How To Train Your Dragon 2 hype. Ed, those set ideas and figs look awesome!

[mccoyed]

Yeah, after seeing How to Train Your Dragon 2, the first thing I wanted to do was make stuff out of Lego.

[Giantorange]

Oh, one thing I didn't mention, the only think I REALLY didn't like about the previous Viking range is varying clutch power. Particularly the horn-helmet interface and even more the helmet-head interface. Really bugs me that the pieces don't fit as well on some 'modern' moulds as well-played with figs I have from 30+ years ago.

/end rant

[Venkefedo]

The helmets bug me so much! They fall off so easily. I don't think the CMF Viking was quite so bad, but the handful of Theme figs I got… horrid.

I'd love to see a return of this theme, tho maybe a little more historical (i.e. a new helm w/o horn-holes; the Brickforge one covers too much of the face, sadly, but something more like that or even just the original remolded w/o the holes & with a better connection). A newer shield (or stickers akin to the original shields) might be nice, too, since the old ones are rather unwieldy, and a single-piece axe maybe, with the head somewhere between the tomahawk & the traditional separate axe-head in size. I like the BW Viking axe, as well as the (scarcely-available now) BrickForge hatchet, good stuff for Vikings & dwarves.

Maybe instead of "Vikings vs beasts" it could simply be "Viking vs Viking" like the Castle themes? Two rival factions, a longhouse and/or semi-modular fort for each, and not everyone in mail (leather jerkins, tunics,and furs would be right at home on Viking warriors, but could be great fodder for general Castle peasants, merchants, nobles, etc). The original theme provided some of my favorite torsos, so I'd be keen to see what they'd come up with in a new go-around. If not a "two Viking faction" theme, maybe a Fantasy-like blend with frost giants, dwarves, elves, trolls, etc?

[snefroe]

The helmets bug me so much! They fall off so easily. I don't think the CMF Viking was quite so bad, but the handful of Theme figs I got… horrid.

I'd love to see a return of this theme, tho maybe a little more historical (i.e. a new helm w/o horn-holes; the Brickforge one covers too much of the face, sadly, but something more like that or even just the original remolded w/o the holes & with a better connection). A newer shield (or stickers akin to the original shields) might be nice, too, since the old ones are rather unwieldy, and a single-piece axe maybe, with the head somewhere between the tomahawk & the traditional separate axe-head in size. I like the BW Viking axe, as well as the (scarcely-available now) BrickForge hatchet, good stuff for Vikings & dwarves.

Maybe instead of "Vikings vs beasts" it could simply be "Viking vs Viking" like the Castle themes? Two rival factions, a longhouse and/or semi-modular fort for each, and not everyone in mail (leather jerkins, tunics,and furs would be right at home on Viking warriors, but could be great fodder for general Castle peasants, merchants, nobles, etc). The original theme provided some of my favorite torsos, so I'd be keen to see what they'd come up with in a new go-around. If not a "two Viking faction" theme, maybe a Fantasy-like blend with frost giants, dwarves, elves, trolls, etc?

I would agree with this. I'd love to see a return as well, but only if they drop the dragons etc. I wouldn't mind some fantasy elements, maybe a reference to Viking religion, like Thor,...

[Blakstone]

I agree that LEGO really needs a new, horn free Viking helmet if they bring this back as a theme.

A LEGI IDEAS submission cannot have any new molds. After looking through all the helmets on Brickset, the best substitution I can fold is the Rohan helmet. Peter Jackson largly based their culture on Vikings.

[Venkefedo]

I agree that LEGO really needs a new, horn free Viking helmet if they bring this back as a theme.

A LEGI IDEAS submission cannot have any new molds. After looking through all the helmets on Brickset, the best substitution I can fold is the Rohan helmet. Peter Jackson largly based their culture on Vikings.

More Rohan helmets?! NEVER! I think a mix of Rohan helms, the classic Castle helm w/ chinguard (or chainmail coif, it can be thought of), and various hair pieces (not every viking needs a helmet! Many probably preferred to skip them entirely, and it'd let some more of those fun Thorin's Company hair/beard pieces to get used elsewhere, along with tried & true hair pieces)

[gedren_y]

On a previous page I suggested that this helmet done in two colors, reddish brown/dark brown on top and pearl light gray/metallic silver on bottom, would work as a viking helmet. I have seen similar items sold in catalogues as viking replicas. It could even be done completely in reddish brown/dark brown with a new version of the chainmail coif head.

[Agent Fusion]

I would personally prefer more of a mythological theme, but I can't see why history and fantasy can't be two separate subthemes.

[Sir Walter Maugham]

Ooh, I would love the Vikings line to make a comeback.

The comical oversized horned helmets and fantasy setting didn't bother me much at all. The crazy death machines were a bit... no, very over the top and unrealistic, but were quite fun they had a charm of their own. (I consider the 7020 "Heavy Artillery Wagon" to be one of best designed shooting mechanism that I've seen in a official Lego set)

A revamped Vikings line featuring a wider variety of mythological creatures, (molded ones, to avoid that robotic look) and a few less crazy death machines would be very exciting and appealing to me.

[Agent Fusion]

I don't know, the new building system is pretty good with making organic creatures. See: Invasion from Below.

[-Carson Haupt-]

I've just read this entire thread, and I must say I'm very impressed. One note about the figures though: It's a small detail, but if you were to make it so the only yellow on the torso is the hands, that would be GREAT! I think I speak for many when I say this this is really appreciated by people who prefer flesh tones and don't like the effect a little yellow triangle can have.

[Venkefedo]

I agree, Carson! And vice-versa with fleshie torsos, tho I've seen plenty of folks use some with yellow heads and it's barely noticeable. I think the tiny bit of yellow on the fur- shouldered one Ed-209 designed at the top would be okay... Yellow undershirt!

[ED-209]

Oh, one thing I didn't mention, the only think I REALLY didn't like about the previous Viking range is varying clutch power. Particularly the horn-helmet interface and even more the helmet-head interface. Really bugs me that the pieces don't fit as well on some 'modern' moulds as well-played with figs I have from 30+ years ago.

/end rant

Odin's blood! I'd forgotten how poor the clutch on those helmets was! It was so bad it felt like they'd spin around and fall off if you even looked at them. TLG has an exceptional record of consistently high quality, that helmet was a rare lapse.

A newer shield (or stickers akin to the original shields) might be nice, too, since the old ones are rather unwieldy, and a single-piece axe maybe, with the head somewhere between the tomahawk & the traditional separate axe-head in size. I like the BW Viking axe, as well as the (scarcely-available now) BrickForge hatchet, good stuff for Vikings & dwarves.

Maybe instead of "Vikings vs beasts" it could simply be "Viking vs Viking" like the Castle themes? Two rival factions, a longhouse and/or semi-modular fort for each, and not everyone in mail (leather jerkins, tunics,and furs would be right at home on Viking warriors, but could be great fodder for general Castle peasants, merchants, nobles, etc). The original theme provided some of my favorite torsos, so I'd be keen to see what they'd come up with in a new go-around. If not a "two Viking faction" theme, maybe a Fantasy-like blend with frost giants, dwarves, elves, trolls, etc?

I think the newer round shield with stud would be ideal for the Vikings:

http://www.bricklink...asp?P=91884pb04

http://www.bricklink...asp?P=91884pb01

They could do several different brightly-coloured prints on it, like they did with the 4x4 dish shields in the earlier range.

I too would be thrilled with "Vikings vs Vikings" as the basis of the theme, but I'd quite happily settle for mythological creatures if that's what the focus groups tell them would sell better. In fact they could get some very nicely detailed giants built out of the small ball and socket joints now found in the Chima Legendary creatures sets.

I agree that LEGO really needs a new, horn free Viking helmet if they bring this back as a theme.

A LEGI IDEAS submission cannot have any new molds. After looking through all the helmets on Brickset, the best substitution I can fold is the Rohan helmet. Peter Jackson largly based their culture on Vikings.

I think the sad reality is they'd probably need to use the horned helmets to get the average consumer to realise they were meant to be Vikings. They've released two Viking figures in the CMF range, and they've both had horned helmets. The woman's helmet was even a completely new mould, so it wasn't a cost saving decision there - I think it's just marketability.

I think the old conical helmet with neck protector is acceptable, but it's so heavily used in the normal castle ranges that it wouldn't really have any impact here. I think your idea of the Rohan helmets is a very good one. Makes me wish they'd thought of making the horse crest a removable part! That would have made the helmet a much more flexible piece.

More Rohan helmets?! NEVER! I think a mix of Rohan helms, the classic Castle helm w/ chinguard (or chainmail coif, it can be thought of), and various hair pieces (not every viking needs a helmet! Many probably preferred to skip them entirely, and it'd let some more of those fun Thorin's Company hair/beard pieces to get used elsewhere, along with tried & true hair pieces)

It's true that helmets were expensive enough that most Viking raiders probably wouldn't have had them. Same with maille shirts - most wouldn't have had armour at all. And swords were so expensive that only the wealthiest of men could afford them. I read one estimate that calculated a single sword as being the same cost as an entire landed estate!

I'd also like to see the CMF caveman hair/beard piece in different colours!

I've just read this entire thread, and I must say I'm very impressed. One note about the figures though: It's a small detail, but if you were to make it so the only yellow on the torso is the hands, that would be GREAT! I think I speak for many when I say this this is really appreciated by people who prefer flesh tones and don't like the effect a little yellow triangle can have.

I agree, Carson! And vice-versa with fleshie torsos, tho I've seen plenty of folks use some with yellow heads and it's barely noticeable. I think the tiny bit of yellow on the fur- shouldered one Ed-209 designed at the top would be okay... Yellow undershirt!

I'd be happy to post fleshie versions of the figure designs, if you'd like? I used yellow because, as an unlicensed theme, that's what TLG would do. But here's an example if you like, the first fig design re-done in light flesh:

I've also been working on the design of my big Viking ring fort. It's sort of wound up moving away from a real set concept and became more of a MOC, I think. Certainly the part count would be way too high for an official model. This saddens me, because I really do want to try to make it authentic to the spirit of a real set. But nevertheless I enjoyed making it so much, and I'm very pleased with the outcome. So in the end, it's a half-MOC, half-official-styled hybrid - a Viking MOC in the style of the 80s castles perhaps?

I wound up scrapping the blast-apart cell on the right wall, even though it had that "action feature" box checked, I was just never happy with how it looked. I replaced it with another shop to compliment the fish stall opposite, this time it's herbalist's hut:

Attached to the back wall of the fort, and occupying most of the space inside, is the Jarl's Longhouse or Meadhall:

I'm thinking the curved beams coming out of the roof are just too over-the-top, and may change them to be duplicates of the ones seen at the opposite end of the hall. Any thoughts on this?

I can't take credit for the idea of using barrels in the pillars, I saw someone do that in a LOTR MOC, but can't seem to find it again to give credit. If anyone knows please tell me!

The Longhouse is hinged to open up for play, with bench seats down both walls, a throne for the Jarl, a fire bit for heat and cooking (including red light brick! ), and plenty of supplies in the rafters to last out the winter:

And here's the Longhouse and herbalist's hut integrated into the ring fort:

As always, any feedback is most welcome!

[-Carson Haupt-]

That's just beautiful! Will you build it in real bricks? I really like the over the top accents too.