I am basically a DAM troll collector, but will occasionally purchase other “trolls” that appeal to me. I am fascinated by the Viking trolls and when I came across these unmarked vintage Viking boy and girl troll dolls in 2014, I decided to get them.

 

    Updated (Sept 2020): Part of my fascination is learning the background history on the items I collect. Thanks to Terese P. she found out these trolls were made by Hornsyl Plastic (aka known as Dhp  Plastic / Dan Hill Plastic). The company who made these troll-like dolls is NOT a toy company, so it is likely they were asked by a third party to manufacture these (maybe for tourist souvenirs)?

    

       The male Viking has fake fur hair/beard (some do have genuine wool hair). Ones with fake hair have a cheek blush, ones with wool hair have no cheek blush. His tunic is made of genuine leather (suede side out) and his belt is also leather (smooth side out). His belt also has a dome metal button. His cape is made of felt (I have only seen the color red or yellow used). His lower body is painted with brown and has yellow stripes to represent ties on boots. Clothing is held together by metal staples. Other than the helmet he is in excellent condition. The photos below show close ups of him;

       The girl Viking has genuine wool hair. Her tunic is made of red felt with a green skirt. She has a genuine leather belt with a dome metal button. Clothing is held together with metal staples. Other than her helmet and part of her lips missing, she is in fairly good shape. The photos below show a close up of her;

Her helmet is intact but you can see how it is rapidly degenerating. The horns are starting to collapse and wither away. The rubber bands in her pig-tails are already dry-rotted and falling apart

       The condition of the dolls above (especially the condition of the helmets), suggests they are older. Possibly from early to mid 1960’s.  A troll collector who has these from when she was a child said that she got them around the year 1965. She saw them in a gift shop and begged her mom to get them for her. She doesn’t recall them having any stickers, labels or tags. She thought their origin might have been Sweden. However, I personally am inclined to think they were made in Denmark. She said the helmet on her boy is intact but her girls helmet has disintegrated, became dry then crumbled apart.

       I knew the helmets on mine were not going to withstand time much longer. So I decided to try to preserve the helmets I had, as best as I could by encasing it in acrylic and strengthening the inside of the helmet with gauze. I also repainted the helmet horns and painted the helmet studs in silver. I left their original outfits intact as well as their original glass eyes, but I decided to give them each new genuine Icelandic hair. I also decided to repaint the lips on the girl to look similar to the guy and give her a gentle rose blush. Below are photos of them after restoration;

 

I found the pair shown below on e-bay. I was fascinated because I have never seen a male with real wool hair, the unusual cape color also intrigued me. Sadly they had no helmets, their outfits are in fair condition. The hair on the male was sparse on the left side. The female is missing most of her hair and the button on her belt, she also has a chunk missing from the inside of her left leg. I don’t think this is a factory defect, but it is possible. Neither have any cheek blush. I purchased both for $62.00 with the intention of trying to restore them at some point.

If anyone has documented info (flyers or advertisements) on who SOLD these unmarked trolls and the year of circulation then please do feel free to contact me so that I can update my webpage with the info.

Thanks to other troll collectors who shared pictures with me, it looks like this particular troll mold was used in other variations too. A Christmas (Happy Holidays/ Santa / Elf) troll version,  as well as a soldier / guard version;

Felt clothing on the Christmas / Happy Holidays version of both male & female. Glass eyes, genuine wool hair & trim. Leather belt with domed metal button in center. Painted legs (pants / tights). Staples secure clothing in the back. No manufacture markings on either. [posted with permission from original  owners]

Felt clothing on this guard / soldier version. Plastic eyes, fake fur hat. Painted white legs (pants) with blue stripe & black shoes. Chin strap and white gloves are also painted. Felt jacket opens in front has two metal snaps. Cloth criss-cross straps. No manufacture markings. [posted with permission from original collector]