Behold the completed Viking Village.
Each section was fun to build. While I usually enjoy detailed interiors best of all (e.g. food, tools, furniture), my favorite here was the Watchtower's exterior rock-faces and cave.
The three sections can be easily connected and disconnected. Black clips under the Chieftain's Longhouse attach firmly to bars beneath the Smithy and Watchtower.
If you lack display space--in, say, a book cabinet--you could display one section at a time. The Smithy and Watchtower look good on their own. But the Longhouse might look odd alone because of its rectangular base (an un-organic shape) and protruding black clips.
This overhead view shows there is a generous amount of walking/standing space for minifigures.
Here's a back view, followed by side views. Each building showcases different types of wall-building techniques.
The Smithy (Part 2 shows clearer photos of the interior.)
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The Chieftain's Longhouse (covered in Part 3).
Archer and Shieldmaiden at the Watchtower (covered in Part 4).
The Blacksmith mining for ores to craft into weapons, armor, and tools.
The village and its minifigures are fantastic. Plus they came at an unbelievable price of US$130--when $180 would have been unsurprising for a 2,000-piece Lego IDEAS set. I've always wondered why Lego chose to price this set low (compared to other non-licensed sets).
I have no complaints, other than wishing there were more minifigs--though this would drive up the price. When you place the 4 minifigs in, the village suddenly looks a bit bare.
Which is why my Dungeons & Dragons minifigs decided to show up and liven up the place!
Looks much better with 9 minifigs instead of only 4, right?
Part 6, my final post, will be a story of Vikings versus D&D invaders!