This week’s Minifigure Monday post actually features four Minifigures… but they are all very similar. It felt a little lame to make a post about each individually because I used the same body for all four. With that said, the body is a tribute to the original LEGO® Vikings theme from the early 2000s. Alongside my Viking Merchant and Raven Master, these characters round out my custom Viking Knarr crew.
Over the last year or so, I have collected the occasional Minifigure from the original Vikings theme on trips. I found a few at Bricks and Minifigs in Oregon. I found a couple more at the Brick Bin in Calgary. Then, one of my preferred Bricklink stores (Canada First Bricks) posted a few recently that I bought up. In the end, I had four identical blue torsos (among others) to use for my Viking Knarr crew.
My design uses an element common to the early 2000s Vikings theme.
The torso in question appeared on 14 Minifigures in 10 different sets between 2005 – 2008. Mostly, it appeared on Viking minifigs. However, it was also seen on Castles characters. Of all the Viking theme torsos, it was the most common. You were able to get 11 of them in one go if you bought the Vikings chess set back in the day. Ultimately, that makes the piece relatively easy to get now, and explains why I was able to get four of them from various sources some 20 years later.
The helmets are also from the original Vikings theme, hence why they have that hammered metal look. The modern version of this helmet is much more polished. I like the older version more. Three of Viking Knarr crew have their original Viking theme faces as well. I didn’t want any duplicate faces on my crew, so I swapped out the fourth face for a recent design. The original face prints are not my favourite, so I obscured a couple of them with beards. I changed the legs on a couple of them as well. I wanted them to have uniforms that matched.
One beard is not quite the right fit, but close enough for my display.
I used a version of Dumbledore’s beard from the LEGO® Harry Potter theme on one of the warriors. I like how it looks on him. However, if you plan to use any of these designs, be aware that it makes the helmet sit not quite right. The nose protector of the helmet hits the moustache of the beard ever so slightly. While the helmet does stay on mostly, the clutch is just a tiny bit off as a result. Consequently, the helmet falls off somewhat easily. I might change the beard later, but for now I’m okay with it.
I envision these Vikings as grunts. They have basic weapons and not a huge amount of personality since they are all garbed identically. I did not want them to steal the show from my more story-centric characters in the Viking Knarr crew. With that said, they still need to be recognizable as warriors since they have to protect the cargo ship’s goods. I thought the older designs of the early 2000s worked well in that case while simultaneously acting as a throwback tribute to a theme I would have loved but missed out on.
Stay tuned, I have more ancient and mythic Fennoscandian inspired characters and builds coming. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or on social media as well!
Until next time,
-Tom
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