It has been a while since my last MOC update. I’m attending Bricks in the Six 2025, and I needed something new to add to my Viking Village display. But I’ve had a serious case of builder’s block for a couple of months. The creativity and inspiration just weren’t there. And then, suddenly, the pieces started to click at the right moment… now Tursas rises from the deep!

I went into the LEGO® room to see if anything would come to me, and the Tursas model I teased on Instagram a few months ago finally came to life. Tursas is a giant sea monster from the Finnish epic Kalevala. He rises from the frigid depths of the northern seas to bring chaos to the world. But Tursas isn’t chaos for chaos’ sake. He destroys stagnation so a new normal can take root.

Descriptions of Tursas across literary sources are vague. The Kalevala barely describes him at all, and the ancient poems of the Finns reveal only scattered hints. I’ve spent hours scouring the online records for clues. In the end, I had to let imagination fill the gaps — and that’s how my own version of Tursas took shape for my LEGO Viking world.

Tursas is often associated with octopus-like tentacles. In fact, one Finnish term for octopus is meritursas, which literally translates to “sea-Tursas.” In my research, I also found an obscure reference to Tursas wielding ten swords — or possibly firebrands (reading ancient Finnish poetry can feel like reading Shakespeare). As such, I gave my Tursas eight tentacles and two arms, and added claws to the end of each tentacle.

Tursas is also described poetically as musta mies, or “black man,” likely referring to his mysterious, magical, deep-sea nature rather than actual colour. Since he comes from the blackest depths of the ocean, I decided to make my LEGO version predominantly black. The gold and bright yellow elements offer contrast — gold especially was chosen because it worked best with the horn colours I had available. In the end, I think the gold-on-black combination is striking.

The musculature was important to me. Tursas is supposed to be awe-inspiring, terrifying, and imposing. A creature rising from the sea should look powerful. At the same time, I didn’t want him to look too human, so I aimed for a plated, scaled look that echoes humanoid musculature without copying it. I didn’t have to invent everything from scratch either — the upper torso design comes from Ninjago Fire Dragon Attack (71753). I simply swapped out the red for black.

You might also recognize the head element. It’s from another Ninjago set — Cole’s Earth Dragon (71782), a set I never reviewed but bought specifically for that head, knowing I’d use it for a fire-breathing sea monster someday. Attaching it required some creativity, since I didn’t like the Fire Dragon’s original neck design. So I rebuilt the neck and designed my own arms, replacing the dragon’s wings entirely.

Finally, I wanted a surging sea display base — something that looked as if Tursas rises from the deep. The model sits on a 48×48 baseplate covered in blue and dark blue plates to suggest depth. Stacks of light blue and white plates raise key areas to simulate churning water. I used Trans-dark blue and trans-light blue cheese slopes to add movement to the waves. Trans-dark blue tiles line the baseplate edges to match the surrounding water.

The biggest issue I faced was attaching the tentacles. I wanted them fully poseable, and I have plenty of ball-and-socket modified plates from the Pick-and-Build wall. But the tentacles’ length made those connections too weak on their own. In the end, I built two layers of Technic bricks into Tursas’ underside, allowing me to use 1.5-length pins and angled connectors for sturdier attachment points. There’s still a bit of fragility, but for display, they hold up.

If you’re curious about the mythological roots of Tursas, and the more personal side of this model’s story, I explore them in more depth over on my other blog: Journal of a Part-Time Shaman. Also, if you’re heading to Bricks in the Six 2025, come find me and say hello. I’d love to show you the model in person. It’ll be on display for the duration of the convention. Hope to see you there!

Until next time,

-Tom

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