First set review!
As promised, here is my review of one of the new Lego Vikings sets. I'll try to post a review of the other set that I bought some time this weekend.
Viking Warrior challenges the Fenris Wolf 7015
As its title suggests, this set consists of a viking minifig and a Fenris wolf.
Minifig & Weapons
The viking minifig comes with a horned, metal-effect helmet. The horns are detachable but the helmet looks funny without them. They can also be rotated so the horns can be worn downwards and towards the eyes - which is a viable alternative to the traditional upward position.
The metalic look of the helmet isn't surface applied (silk screened). It seems that the plastic is made this way which means that the pattern won't come off even if you want it to. The ferrous effect is fairly realistic which begs the question: What is the rest of the armour, which isn't metallic but is grey, supposed to represent?
The figure has a black breastplate but this obscures the well painted baldrics and armour beneath. The viking actually looks better without the breastplate.
The figure comes with a pavisse (an oversized shield that rests on the ground) and three weapons: a sword, an axe and a spear. Unfortunately, the sword is made of relatively soft plastic so the sword's grip gets chewed when the weapon in taken in or out of a minifig's hand. The black spear is just the standard kind. It fits in a hole in the pavisse but the shield is probably best left aside. The shield is fixed to a floor plate so it wouldn't be much good against a monster that can simply move around it such as the Fenris wolf. A static shield might serve a purpose if the viking were armed with a missile weapon such as a bow or crossbow and could duck behind it, but he isn't. Besides, the shield has a distinctly contemporary or futuristic look which doesn't suit a Dark Age warrior at all.
The axe is one of the best features of this set. Unlike other minifig weapons, it comes in two parts: a haft and a head. The head is the same metallic plastic as the helmet while the haft is plain brown to represent wood. If you have a second axe head from another set or from Ebay, you can attach both to a single handle to create a wonderful double-headed weapon. The heads are designed to lign up when you do this.
Monster
The monster in this set is the legendary Fenris (or Fenrir) wolf of Norse mythology. It is assembled from lots of parts and in this regard is different from earlier minifig monsters such as those from the Harry Potter sets. This has two advantages: the monster can be easily customised provided you have sufficient pieces from other sets, and it has many joints to strike all the right poses. The disadvantage is that it looks distinctly robotic. Indeed, one imagines that Bionicles have invaded Dark Age Europe and made robo-monsters based on Viking myth to terrorise the locals.
The Fenris wolf is suitably large, towering above the viking when the beast balances on its hind legs. With its red eyes and fangs, it is surprisingly scary for a Lego set. However, it's far more murine than lupine which isn't a problem if you're willing to forget the fact that it's supposed to be the Fenris wolf, not rat. The single most disappointing aspect of this figure is that it has no lower jaw. You are supposed to imagine that it has one but it doesn't look like it does; it just seems as if it's missing.
Overall
I was very much looking forward to this set and it does have features, such as the axe, to commend it. But it is not without flaws some of which are difficult to ignore. Overall, I give Viking Warrior challenges the Fenris Wolf B to B+.
I've already assembled them and will post reviews of both sets later today or some time this weekend. 
