Review: 40729 Shackleton's Lifeboat GwP for LEGO® Black Friday

Lego minifigs of Ernest Shackleton and photographer Frank Hurley with lifeboat James Caird making camp on the polar ice

A tie-in gift with purchase (GwP) of the Brick Friday 2024 release 10335 The Endurance, which I reviewed earlier this week, LEGO® Icons 40729 Shackleton’s Lifeboat is a minifigure-scale replica of the James Caird – which is the lifeboat that Shackleton used to save his crew, as we will see in the second half of this review.

Unlike the LEGO Endurance it comes with minifigures, making it a highly desirable gift with purchase for LEGO Insiders purchasing set 10335 from Friday 28 November to Monday 2 December... if stocks last that long!

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

Page contents

Set information
The parts
Minifigures
The build
Verdict
Frank Hurley, photographic pioneer
Journey of the James Caird
More Black Friday / Cyber Monday gifts and promotions

Information about set 40729 Shackleton’s Lifeboat

Release date: 29 November to 2 December 2024
Pieces: 232
Price: Free for LEGO® Insiders with purchases of 10335 The Endurance, while supplies last

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Lego GwP 40729 LEGO® Icons Shackleton's Lifeboat

More Black Friday gifts with purchase

The parts

There are no new moulds or recolours in this set, but a few interesting ones to mention here.

1x Bar 12L with Open Stud, Tow Ball, and Slit (Boat Mast) in Black (6369845 | 6076) – appeared last year in only three other sets
3x Minifigure, Weapon Spear Gun with Squared Trigger and Thick Spear Base in Black (6043130 | 13591) – shares the second highest appearance in sets with only three other sets of the last 7 years
1x Minifigure, Utensil Oar / Paddle Head in Light Bluish Gray (6424024 | 31990) – only the fifth appearance of this part in this colour, since its introduction in another historical GwP from 2021, 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute
1x Minifigure, Utensil Ice Axe - 3-Rib Handle in Silver Metallic/Flat Silver (6438518 | 18738) – introduced in this colour in 2023, it appears only in three other sets so far

2x Wedge, Plate 4 x 2 Pointed Left and Right in Dark Tan (6480358 & 6480359 | 65429 & 65426) – these two 2024 recolours only appeared in 31213 Mona Lisa so far
1x Tile, Modified 4 x 6 with Studs on Edges in Dark Tan (6472958 | 6180) – another 2024 recolour makes its appearance only for the fourth time

Minifigures

We get two minifigures in this GwP: the polar adventurer Ernest Shackleton and the photographer Frank Hurley who captured the incredible journey of the Endurance and its crew on film.

While both figures use pre-existing parts, the selection to create them seems fitting to create polar vibes.

Ernest Shackleton

Above right: Sir Ernest H. Shackleton in 1909, by George Charles Beresford/ Adam Cuerden - National Library of Norway, Public Domain.

1x in Minifigure, Headgear Hat, Wide Brim Outback Style (Fedora) in Dark Brown (6396165 | 61506)
1x Minifig Head Gimli, Thick Reddish Brown eyebrows, Angry, Wrinkles print in Light Nougat (6421831 | 3626cpb3256) – appears in 10316 Lord of the Rings: Rivendell
1x Torso, Jacket, Tan Shirt, Straps, Nougat/Dark Tan Scarf print, Dark Blue Arms, Light Nougat Hands in Dark Blue (6344395 | 973pb5115c01) – appears in 76439 Ollivanders & Madam Malkin’s Robes and 10316 Lord of the Rings: Rivendell
1x Hips and Legs Plain in Dark Brown (4529672 | 970c00)

Frank Hurley

Frank Hurley (taken on board Endurance), Public Domain.

1x Minifigure, Headgear Hat, Police in Dark Blue (6399256 | 3624)
1x Minifig Head Belloq, Dark Bluish grey Eyebrows, Wrinkles, Smirk print in Light Nougat (6331600 | 3626cpb3308) – appears in 77015 Temple of the Golden Idol and 76269 Avengers Tower
1x Torso Jacket, Dark Bluish Grey Sweater, White Shirt print, Black Arms, Light Nougat Hands in Black (6374765 | 973pb4465c01) – appears in 76252 Batcave Shadowbox and 21330 Home Alone
1x Hips and Legs Plain in Dark Bluish Gray (4222693 | 970c00)

The build

Although it is at a different scale, Shackleton’s lifeboat is a welcome addition to the 10335 Endurance LEGO set, but also makes a great small standalone display on its own. LEGO has launched tributes to historical figures like this in the past, like GwP 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute in 2021.

boxed gift with purchase lego Shackleton's Lifeboat set 40729

First thing I noticed is that it comes, like the set it is tied to, in the nice LEGO Icons 18+ black box with (Arctic) white banner, rather than the often-used yellow GwP carton.

In the first of the 6 bags you assemble the minifigures and their small accessories: a stove, in which the survivors melted ice or cooked food, a crate with utensils (I wonder if the bottle is the famous Shackleton Whisky?) and finally the camera of Frank Hurley, in which he captured so many stunning pictures and films of the Endurance, its crew and its journey in black and white as well as in colour.

Next up you build the sled on which Shackleton and its crew pulled the boats over the ice.

4 steps in the process of construction of the lego james caird lifeboat of ernest shackleton

The remaining four bags are the James Caird itself. Like on its smaller-scaled counterpart on the LEGO Endurance set, you start with the keel and later attach white curved wedges on each side of the boat – only these wedges are bigger.

completed endurance lifeboat james caird from lego gift with purchase set 40729 with separate tarpaulin construction

Then you add the dark tan brick-built canvas on top, which protected Shackleton on his journey over the open sea.

Finishing details are the masts and rudder, and the the black rope that sits under the canvas. I like how good this sub-build fits on the boat: the white 1x1 modified tiles with clip are a guide rail, which works perfectly and looks just right – a small touch that adds much to the finished model.

Verdict

The Shackleton lifeboat is an incredibly sturdy and stable build. While I wouldn’t recommend an arctic travel trip with it, it seems appropriate that it mimics its real life counterpart in that way.

completed black friday 2024 lego gift with purchase, shackleton's lifeboat

The only way this set could be made any better than it already is would be if LEGO had included sails for it – but I understand for the budget of a GwP, it would be a big stretch to add another three sails (on top of the 10 new fabric sails provided in the main set).

It is indeed a worthy tie-in model that compliments the Endurance, and is also a nice transfer benefit set.

What I mean by this is, that it operates on two levels. First, it takes an existing part of the LEGO Endurance set and scales it up to minifigure scale. That brings the bonus point that, while the main set does not feature any minifigures (which some have complained about), you have with this GwP the chance to add the two most important figures of this journey – Shackleton and Hurley – to your display.

On the other level, it completes the story of Shackleton and his expedition. The story of the Endurance from its launch to tragic sinking in the Weddel Sea is the main set, the ship itself. The fight for survival and the incredible undertaking by Shackleton to save his crew is covered by this GwP – an undertaking that we will have a closer look at now, in our final historical overview.

a (larger scale) lifeboat to one side of the endurance model.

Frank Hurley, photographic pioneer

The reason why we have so much visual evidence of the incredible journey of Shackleton, the Endurance and the struggle for survival of the crew is photographer Frank Hurley, to whom I now point the focus in a short biography, before continuing with the journey of the lifeboat James Caird.

James Francis “Frank” Hurley was born on 15 October 1885 and was an Australian adventurer and photographer. While most famous for his coverage of the Endurance expedition of Ernest Shackleton, he was also a war photographer.

Buying his first camera at 17 and learning photography all by himself, he quickly gained reputation in the field, especially for his dangerous takes on catching pictures.

lego recreation of frank hurley photographing the Endurance on the polar ice

He set foot in Antarctica for the first time while attending the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911 to 1914 led by Douglas Mawson. With the material from this expedition, Hurley published a documentary.

His next journey into the Antarctic realms was with Shackleton aboard the Endurance. The photographic kit he used for the expedition included the cinematograph machine, plate still camera and several smaller cameras, alongside additional equipment like lenses and tripods. He also took the necessary developing equipment on board, though most of his equipment was abandoned when Endurance sank in 1915.

Also a pioneer of colour photography, he later compiled his records of the expedition into the documentary film South in 1919.

Soon after his return from the Endurance expedition he joined the Australian Imperial Force as war photographer in 1917 in the rank of an honorary captain. He captured many stunning battlefield scenes during the war, still taking high risks due to his adventurous spirit. He worked again as photographer during World War II from 1940 until 1943.

Frank Hurley died in Sydney on 16 January 1962 at the age of 76.

lego frank hurley minifig standing on the ice with camera tripod next to the endurance ship

Journey of the James Caird

In the time between abandoning Endurance, taking shelter on the ice and her sinking, the crew had to salvage as many provisions and utilities as possible, while sacrificing anything that would increase weight on the lifeboats. That included many valuable resources and personal possessions.

Shackleton’s initial plan was to march across the ice toward land but this was given up shortly, after progress was lacking. The ice drifted farther, and slowly but steadily, on April 7 1916, Elephant Island came into view. Two days later, the ice beneath them began to crack, so they launched the boats and faced the open ocean. Battling the Arctic sea, they rowed until they finally arrived on Elephant Island on April 15, exhausted, and struck with dysentery.

For the first time since Endurance had left the island of South Georgia, they had dry land under their feet, although they quickly realized no one would rescue them from this remote island.

lego minifig holding 2 lego penguins on the ice

Shackleton decided to modify the lifeboat James Caird to resist the open seas as much as possible and launched her, together with Captain Worsley and four other sailors, to get to the whaling station on South Georgia to raise help for the remaining crew.

For over two weeks they had to face and overcome the adversities of the Arctic sea before they finally made it to South Georgia, although they went off course and landed on the opposite side of the island. Three of Shackleton’s men were severely ill and wouldn’t survive another day on sea, so he decided to leave them on the shore while he and the other two crossed the mountains on the island to get to the whaling station at Stromness. Here he found help to retrieve the three men on the opposite side of the island, and could now focus on evacuating the remaining 22 members on Elephant Island.

It took three attempts over several months before Shackleton, with the help of Chile, who gave the ship Yelcho to him, was able to overcome the ice. On August 30, 1916 he reached his men and was able to save them without any casualties. After nearly 2 years the odyssey of the Endurance crew came to an end, and they all returned safely to England.

closeup of the stern of the lego endurance ship

Shackleton and his crew may have returned home, but the Endurance was lost. For over a century the shipwreck stayed elusive, until its discovery in 2022. While he had passed away a long time ago, Shackleton, his Arctic expedition, his sunken ship and the crew's struggle for survival will always be an outstanding historical episode – their legacy will endure.

More Black Friday / Cyber Monday gifts and promotions

As well as the James Caird, LEGO Insiders will have access to many more GwPs, exclusives and deals.

40700 Winter Holiday Train for LEGO Insiders who spend US$170/ £155/ €170/ CA$220/ AU$280/ NZ$300 or more on LEGO.com, while stocks last. Read our Winter Train LEGO review.
40699 Retro Record Player GwP for LEGO Insiders who spend US$250/ CA$325/ £225/ €250/ AU$400/ NZ$420 or more on LEGO.com, while stocks last. Read our LEGO Retro Record Player review.

Pick a Brick orders count towards your total, except if your order consists solely of "Standard" elements. Let us know in the comments if you find that is not the case as TLG have not been clear about this!

There are other offers too:

Already underway is the LEGO Insiders Member Offer: Save on selected sets 23 November to 2 December, while supplies last.
LEGO Insiders will also have access to special physical and digital rewards, sweepstakes, and more.
The rewards include a LEGO Tic Tac Toe (noughts and crosses) game, available from 28 November, for 2,400 LEGO Insiders Points. It is of interest as a parts pack / army builder, especially the 10 astronaut torsos – 5 in orange and 5 in White – but note there are no airtanks.

5008897 Tic Tac Toe on LEGO.com

Lego Space Tic Tac Toe Noughts and Crosses Game with orange and white astronaut minifigs

The page to check from midnight on Friday 28 is the Black Friday LEGO® Toy Deals 2024 page:

Other countries click here

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28 November 2024