We’re building LEGO The Endurance, a 3-masted tribute to the discovery of Antarctica

November 29, 2024

The featured LEGO build for Black Friday 2024 is a model of the Endurance: a huge three-masted sailing ship called a Barquentine. In addition to its historical significance, the Endurance was a beautiful blend of old and new, using both sail and steam power to propel itself through the water.

LEGO Icons Endurance

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This model of The Endurance is LEGO at its most serious and austere. There are no minifigures, no self-referential bits and pieces. It’s all masts, sails, rigging and ships’ boats, depicted without any trace of irony. But this actually has a positive effect – the end result looks realistic and noble. This is a centerpiece that would look great on a coffee table or on a side table in the corner of a dining room. This set goes well with polite company.

We are building LEGO The Endurance

It is the latest step in LEGO’s promotion of itself as a lifestyle and as a pure brand for children, but also for adults. These sets integrate into the aesthetic of a room, as artwork on the walls, as flowers and plants on window sills, or as full-scale replicas of famous landmarks or artifacts on a shelf or small table. The Endurance is a beautiful set that would dominate and add sophistication to any living space. Just make sure you have enough display space and room aesthetics to give it the right stage and presentation.

The LEGO Endurance comes in 28 numbered bags – the number of bags corresponds to the number of crew members who worked on the real ship. You start by building the boat itself, from bow to stern. You build it in three large sections that connect together using drop-down pins. Building the boat is a methodical process in which you first build the middle “spine” of the boat and then attach pieces horizontally to create the curves and waves of the boat. The pieces interlock and slide past each other in a satisfying way – a credit to the designers’ consistent precision and foresight.

The boat comes together quickly – both because the process is exciting and because the stones at this particular stage are large and chunky, covering a large surface area. But the cabins, rope ladders and rigging mentioned above represent a much slower process that is best done in smaller steps. The sails, for example, are loosely sewn into the rigging and reminded me of the basting stitch I learned in my middle school home economics class.

As always, the level of detail matches the impressiveness of the overall effect: the railing on the deck, the portholes in the cabins, the minimalist personal touches in the quarters, the anchor attached to a long chain. The decorative elements at the stern and bow. The rudder that turns when you turn the steering wheel. The spool that you wrap the rigging around so you can loosen and tighten it manually. The reel is actually below deck; The decks at the stern of the ship are removable to allow access to the ship’s steam engine.

An interesting feature of this set is that you build a temporary, larger stand to support the model during the building process. But at the end of the process, the structure reinforces itself and you can take away that extra support. The final model rests on a small brown stand, the color of which gives the impression of wood.

The real-life Endurance was famous for its role during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, an international effort to map and explore the seventh continent. In 1914, Anglo-Irish explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton led the Endurance and a crew of 27 on what was originally planned as the first of its kind trans-Antarctic expedition across the entire continent. At the time of her first voyage, Endurance was one of the strongest ships ever built, with a hull designed and reinforced to withstand icy waters.

However, the Endurance was caught in pack ice before landing and sank in the Weddell Sea after being irretrievably damaged by the associated pressure. The crew left the ship and made their way to Elephant Island in three ship’s boats. From there, six of the men set out on a single ship’s boat on an 800-mile journey to get help. When Shackleton reached South Georgia, he immediately began organizing the rescue of the rest of the crew. Three trips were attempted and then aborted, but the fourth was successful.

In the end, all 28 crew members survived the ordeal. The story of Endurance is about man’s resilience and perseverance in the face of the elements and seemingly insurmountable odds. And in 2022, a search team discovered the wreck of the Endurance over a century after she sank, reigniting interest in the ship and its history.

Before writing this review I did some research; I knew about the Endurance, but I didn’t know the intricacies and improbabilities of its history. One could enjoy this LEGO build without knowing the details. But it definitely helps. If you would like to learn more about the ship, its journey and its subsequent rediscovery, there is a documentary film by National Geographic called Endurance. Streaming on Disney+. And if you’re giving this set to someone else as a Christmas gift, be sure to point them in the right direction so they get the most out of the experience.

LEGO The Endurance, set #10335, costs $269.99 and consists of 3,011 pieces. It is available exclusively in the LEGO Store.

Kevin Wong is a freelancer for IGN and specializes in LEGO. He has also been published in Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.