Five differences between LEGO Ideas 21343 Viking Village and original project
When any LEGO Ideas project makes it to a real-life set, there are always some changes – so how does 21343 Viking Village shape up?
As we first thought when we saw a rumoured piece count for LEGO Ideas 21343 Viking Village, the overall structure of the set stays fairly close to the original design from BrickHammer. However, that doesn’t mean it looks exactly the same. Indeed, there are some big changes that make the overall appearance of the set quite a change from the first submission.
Here’s a closer look at those changes and the impact they have on LEGO Ideas 21343 Viking Village.
5 – Vibrant colours
The Vikings may not be known for a bright colour scheme, but the final version of 21343 Viking Village takes natural colours and brightens them up for a vibrant set that still looks realistic. When comparing it to Brickhammer’s original design, the inclusion of more sand and light-brown shades brightens up the wooden buildings for a less grungy-looking model. Even the blue of the water is brighter, while the inclusion of a snow-capped tree also adds some welcome colour to the otherwise quite austere grey rocks.
While Brickhammer’s original design was impressive, the introduction of more colour variety goes a long way to making it more dynamic to display. While a muted colour scheme can work well for smaller sets, a larger build like this benefits from brighter shades to avoid looking gloomy.
4 – Flexible structure
The original design included five main buildings, a small blacksmith’s shop, the blacksmith’s house, a great hall, a tall temple building, and a small watch tower, connected to the temple via a bridge, while the final build has just three, a blacksmith’s smithy, chieftain’s longhouse and a watchtower. While this might seem like a significant loss, the overall landscape isn’t too much changed, with the original five buildings standing quite close together and therefore being hard to distinguish.
However, there is a more impactful change in 21343 Viking Village in that you can display each of the three buildings on its own or as part of a larger display. While Brickhammer’s original submission was purely a single model, you could feasibly dot each of the Viking buildings around your LEGO displays, or even integrate each one into a wider urban complex.
3 – An extra minifigure
There are four minifigures included in 21343 Viking Village, in comparison to the original three. The chieftain, blacksmith, and warrior were always there, but the LEGO Group decided to add an archer to the mix, as well as change the warrior to a female shield-maiden. The detail in. the minifigures is also much approved between the two men and women, with detailed armour and unique printing on their shields inspired by Odin’s two ravens and two wolves from Viking mythology.
2 – Hidden depths
There’s also more than first meets the eye to 21343 Viking Village, with an underground mining area for the blacksmith to get the materials she needs. Different coloured elements on the floor mark various different deposits for extra authenticity, in an area of the build that is entirely missing from the original design. Perhaps losing some of the buildings freed up the resources here, but it does well in adding more depth and life to 21343 Viking Village, as well as telling a story for the blacksmith.
1 – Details on the bridge
The final difference is a small one that makes a big difference. The wooden buildings and rustic appearance mean a rope bridge makes perfect sense as a way of getting from the watch tower to the lookout point. While both designs have such bridges, 21343 Viking Village uses individual steps to make it appear more precarious and much more like a real rope bridge. Vikings are known for their bravery and, if you ask us, they’d certainly need to be in order to brave the rickety-looking bridge. Despite how vulnerable it looks, it fits perfectly with the LEGO Ideas set’s overall style.
LEGO Ideas 21343 Viking Village will be available from October 1, 2023, retailing for £124.99 / $129.99 / €139.99.
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Well, the set seems to be based on both BrickHammer’s Viking Village Ideas projects. The one from 2023 has many similarities with the final design: lighter colours, similarly built tree, and a cave at the back.