Build Review OF LEGO 40729 Shackleton's Lifeboat
LEGO LIFEBOAT REVIEW
LEGO Shackleton's Lifeboat (40729) is the exclusive Gift With Purchase available with LEGO 10335 The Endurance, which is set to launch on November 29, 2024, coinciding with Black Friday.
The Shackleton's Lifeboat pays homage to the incredible survival story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew. It captures the iconic lifeboat used in their daring journey across treacherous Antarctic seas. Read on to see the step-by-step build and find out what features it has.
THE LEGO BUILD
THE LEGEND AND HIS PHOTOGRAPHER
Whilst LEGO 10335 doesn’t include any LEGO Minifigures, LEGO 40729 features the man himself, Sir Ernest Shackleton, and his photographer, Frank Hurley. Both figures have printed torso pieces.
Shackleton has a snazzy blue jacket with a scarf that is continued on the back, too. He also has an undershirt with stripes, and the bib of his dungarees is printed at the bottom of the torso. The back of his jacket features a tab across the bottom with a couple of buttons on it.Hurley is sporting a black jacket with pockets, buttons, lapels, and a couple of creases on the back. Under his jacket, Frank is wearing a grey V-neck sweater with an open-collar shirt underneath.
The figures only have single headprints. Frank has a half smile, grey eyebrows, and several facial creases. Shackleton’s face looks like he’s smirking. He has brown eyebrows and considerably more facial creases, which is understandable given the situation he was in!
Both gentlemen have headwear: Frank has a blue cap, and Ernest has a brown fedora, as all good adventurers should. In addition to his hat, Shackleton has a sextant (used to measure angular distances to observe altitudes of celestial bodies to ascertain latitude and longitude), an essential tool for the expedition.
In addition to the sextant, LEGO 40729 provides the lads with a mini stove, pickaxes, a couple of beverages, and a crate to keep them all in. Frank is completed by having a camera on a tripod. The tripod is cleverly created using three harpoon guns for the legs, which is simple yet highly effective.
BUILDING THE BOAT
The first part of the boat to be constructed is the sledge that converts it to ice travel mode. This is constructed with a selection of brown pieces, including two 1x10 plates for the runners and inverted slopes for the ends. When not attached to the boat, the sledge can hold the stove and storage crate.
The ship's core is built from several 12-stud long pieces with smaller parts adding height to the build. Once the centrepiece is completed, the curved pieces for the stern and the bow are added to the structure, followed by the white panels for the hull. These curved panels fantastically emulate the shape of a ship’s hull, making them a great choice of pieces.
The sides are built up higher using 1x2 grey bricks and several brackets, with more curved panels attached to them. Nougat-coloured 1x4 tiles and plates are added to create the benches in the vessel's middle. White sloped pieces are added to brackets and 1x12 plates to create the gunwales, there are a couple of 1x1 upright holders added as well to support the “ropes” around the edge.
Once the port and starboard sections have been completed, the deck is added. This is mainly comprised of tan-coloured tiles. The tiller is created with three pieces, one of which is the “telescope” piece. The final part of the build is the removable top section of the deck. This slots over the benches and holds two oars, one on either side.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This 34-step model took roughly 20 minutes and was an enjoyable little build. It’s slightly larger than we were anticipating, but that’s not a bad thing. There are a lot of neat details, such as the hidden benches and the ability to switch to ice travel mode. The LEGO Minifigures are fantastic and come with a super range of accessories. This will look great displayed on its own or alongside the eagerly awaited LEGO Icons 10335 The Endurance.
What are your thoughts on this Black Friday release? What other ships do you think LEGO should recreate?
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