Torben the Viking King will rule the Norsemen village I am starting to build. He was largely inspired by the Evil Dwarf from Minifigures Series 5. That collection came out in 2011, which was near the end of my dark ages. Consequently, I did not collect the characters. However, I did find one years later second hand. He came without his axe and shield, but I didn’t need those anyway. I wanted the helmet, hair/beard, head, and torso.

I like the Evil Dwarf’s belt buckle, it makes me think of Odin. The winged helmet is also Odin-like since Odin is associated with ravens. Another aspect I greatly appreciate is the dark rings around the eyes. I imagine Torben the Viking King as a weary ruler in exile. He is starting a new settlement after losing the battle for his former empire. His faithful followers have come with him, and he has to take care of them despite his past failures. No rest for the weary. I know the look is supposed to make the character look evil. To me, he just looks haggard.

The weary ruler in exile…

Of course, the Evil Dwarf comes with stumpy legs. I dislike those unmoving legs quite a bit. And Series 5 came out before the short, moving legs first appeared in 2018. Torben is not meant to be a dwarf, but an imposing Viking king. Consequently, I replaced his legs with those from the Series 25 Vampire Knight. He also needed something lordly, so I added a red cape. Apparently Viking royalty wore red or bright blue. I have lots of Superman minifigs, thus lots of red capes. Red also adds a splash of colour to the character.

The sword comes from the LEGO® Harry Potter collectible Minifigures Series (the first one). It came with the goblin character. Later, it also came in a few Harry Potter sets. It is Godric Griffindor’s sword. It works well for Torben the Viking King because it has a bird on the hilt. Of course, the bird is actually a phoenix in Harry Potter. But, the lack of detail on the small scale LEGO® version means it could just as easily represent a raven. The “rubies” in the hilt make it kingly, and their colour ties them into Torben’s red cape as well.

Torben needed a little… err… big something else…

I really like the way the character turned out, but I felt he still needed something more. Something above and beyond that which the normal Viking would not have. So, I added a “home bear”. Yes, that was a thing in the Viking age. Some Vikings captured brown bear or polar bear cubs to raise at home. The practise was so prevalent that laws and fines were created for home bear owners whose bears damaged the property of other people. I own LEGO® brown bears and polar bears… but I intentionally picked a black bear. Black bears are North American, so Vikings might have encountered them… but they would have been hard for Vikings to get since not many Vikings made it across the Atlantic. A black home bear would be rare and worthy of a king. Plus, my story is fictional, so I can do things like that.

I named the bear Otso. That is not Norse, it is Finnish. Finland was not a Viking nation. However, I want to weave in aspects from my native Finland’s mythology into my build. The bear was central to pagan Finnish beliefs. Finns held it high regard and surrounded the bear in ritual. They called it the Golden King of the Forest, and one of its many names was Otso. Of course, the only bear species in Finland is the brown bear. But, a Viking could be forgiven for using a Finnish name for a black bear.

Thunder bear and the King of the Forest

Which brings me back to Torben the Viking King. Why would he have home bear, and rare one on top of that? Other than because he is a king, of course… Well, “Torben” is an old Norse name that means “Thunder Bear” or “Thor’s Bear”. Since he was named for the bear of a God, he should have a kingly bear as a companion.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this week’s Minifigure Monday and the latest addition to my own personal Norse saga. Torben now joins the ranks of the Viking Merchant, Raven Master, and Hann Maðr. As usual, there is more to come on this journey. Stay tuned, and let me know what you think in the comments or reach out on social media.

Until next time,

-Tom

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