Back in November 2024, I shared the first build in my custom Nordic LEGO® world. I built a Viking cargo ship, also called a knarr. If you were at Bricks in the Six, you might have seen it. Since then, I’ve share a number of custom Minifigures who I intend to include in my Viking settlement. Now, I have completed the first two baseplates of that settlement and I can say my Vikings have settled.

This build has taken me few months of tinkering. I started working on this section in October, shortly after reviewing the Viking Village set. In fact, the Viking Village was my starting point for this build. I didn’t love the set, but I liked the general concept. I took inspiration from the longhouse and blacksmith, but joined the buildings together and made them my own.

The LEGO® Viking Village set served as my starting point.

Since I felt the Viking Village longhouse was too small, I turned it into a regular residence. I have other plans for a larger blacksmith, so I tacked the set version onto the side of my house. However, I turned it into a barn. The general structure and the look of the exterior walls remains true to the Viking Village set. But I changed the roof because I did not like how it was done in the set.

The barn is relatively empty, except for a couple of bales of hay. In the yard, there’s a fenced enclosure for my small collection of goats. Since I bought a full box of Minifigures Series 25, I own three white goats. Eventually, I will also add the grey goat from the Medieval Town Square set. I have yet to build that set though.

The first Vikings have settled on a goat farm.

Since the series 25 goats made it into my display, I also added the Goat Herder Minifigure. His name is Jurgen. However, I made him a little older by changing his head. He lives on the farm with his wife, Alda Greiharr, the fierce but retired shield maiden. Their farm house is simple. It has enough space for two to sit, eat, and sleep. I modeled the fireplace on the one from the Viking Village blacksmith.

In front of the barn, Jurgen and Alda have a well. This well conceals the battery pack for the lighting. I designed it with minimal attachment so it easily lifts off. The fireplace and the lantern by the barn both light up. Additionally, wires extend through the MILS (modular integrated landscaping system) base to also light up the bonfire on the beach and the torches on the dock.

This build lights up using products from LeLightGo.

For the lighting, I used the LeLightGo kit that I was gifted for the Icons Modular Police Station. After reviewing it as it was intended, I removed it from the Police Station and reused the parts for this build. I found that even the intense blues and reds in that kit were usable. The red went into the fireplace. I changed the colour of the blue light by placing it inside a trans-orange 1×1 cone. Subsequently, I placed that inside a lantern element. You can’t tell the light is blue anymore. The only light I found unusable for my Viking Village was the flashing light.

Wiring the torches on the dock was probably the most challenging part. Since this build represents the Viking age, I cannot have any visible wires. all electrical components need to be carefully hidden. I wanted torches on the dock, so I ended up attaching them to pillars. On one side, the pillar is composed mostly of 1x2x1 half cylinder elements. Using those allowed me to hide the wire inside the column. Subsequently, the wire extends from one torch to the next by hiding inside the crossbeam above the pillars. Only a teensy bit of wire is visible where each sconce attaches to the pillar.

The ramshackle dock will not be the main port in my village.

The dock extends onto the second baseplate without being physically attached at the point where the plates meet. I did this for ease of transport in case I ever decide to take this Viking build to a convention. Apart from the dock, the second baseplate is mostly covered in flat trans-blue tiles. I need a dock and expanse of open water to accommodate my Knarr. However, I don’t think this will be the main dock for my Village. I have another MOC ship in the works, as well as the Creator Viking Ship set. Consequently, this dock will just get my settlement started, and may eventually become a secondary mooring area. That is part of the reason I made it look a little ramshackle.

Other characters I’ve included in this build include Kónæn Stígandr, Hann Maðr, and the Series 25 Fierce Barbarian. They are enjoying a bonfire on the beach. In all likelihood, as my landscape grows, I will move them elsewhere. But for now, that is their home.

My Vikings have settled in a temperate rainforest.

For landscaping, I used a lot of ferns and grass stems. There are quite a few 2×2 cut-corner wedge plates in olive green haphazardly stacked to create the look of uneven, mossy terrain. They also allowed me to make the tree roots look like they are embedded in the ground. The large tree is a modified version of the tree from the Winter Village Toy Shop set. The smaller tree features the design from the Elf Club House set. The grassy look results from scattering green cheese wedge pieces and dark green 2x1x2/3 sloped wedges.

I intend for the island to be pretty rocky and mostly coniferous. I want it to look like a temperate rainforest near the water, becoming more frigid and cold as the elevation increases. I’ll include lots of animals throughout the wooded areas. So far, this section includes the goats, a crab on the beach, a squirrel, and a hare. I didn’t want larger wildlife yet since this is pretty close to the settlement.

Stay tuned as there is more to come…

I have not decided what will come next. I have ideas for a lookout, a longhouse, and also a temple to the Norse Gods. Which one I start tinkering with is still up in the air. I also have a mostly-finished longboat still in the works. Whatever comes next will likely extend the shoreline I’ve just started. Any thoughts? Let me know in the comments or reach out on social media.

Until next time,

-Tom

Watch more about this build on YouTube:

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