LEGO Icons 10335 The Endurance: worth enduring, or a polarising proposition? [Review]

Whenever we’ve had LEGO sets representing old sailing ships, they have more often than not been connected to pirates or their adversaries. In that respect, the newest entry in the Icons line is rather unique: a vessel designed purely for exploration. Polar exploration, that is! This is 10335 The Endurance, a model of the ship which took Ernest Shackleton and his crew to the Antarctic, only to get stuck and then crushed in the ice of the Weddell Sea. The Endurance has since become one of the great undiscovered shipwrecks until it was found in 2022, 100 years to the day after Shackleton’s death. Two years on, and you can now recreate this legendary ship from 3,011 LEGO pieces for US $269.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99. Availability starts from November 29, while it may also be available from third-party sellers like Amazon or eBay.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

The box and contents

In keeping with the Endurance‘s polar mission, the box has a white band of bricks around the base, nicely framing the ship on its black background. The logo has hints of Antarctica in it, too.

Many of my fellow reviewers have already encountered the two-part boxes that some larger sets have nowadays, but this is my first time. I do prefer this style of box, although I did find getting the white box inside – which contains about half of this set’s numbered bags – a bit fiddly. You have to bend the lip in a rather alarming fashion!

But once out, we can take stock of how many bags we’ll have to contend with. The first 14 are loose, while the remaining ones are in the aforementioned box, along with the instructions, sails and a couple of bags of larger parts.

The instructions are a nice thick bound slab, and come in their own cardboard envelope. The sails are also in an envelope of their own.

As usual, we have some pages of blurb about Shackleton, his ship, the expedition, and the design of this set. I found it interesting that the scale was determined in large part by the lifeboats.

Now then: to the shipyard!

The build

As with many real-life ships, the first thing to be laid down is the keel – essentially, the spine of the ship. In this model, that’s a one-brick-wide construction. There are bricks with studs on the side right from the off.

Much of the first bag is spent building this assembly upwards. About halfway through, we make a small temporary stand which I will call the drydock. This isn’t part of the final model, but rather helps to keep the model stable as we build. It won’t appear in all the photos, but it definitely proved itself useful throughout the build!

Being one stud wide means that much of this ship’s geometry will be done in odd numbers, which is fairly atypical for LEGO sets. Where the more familiar two studs are needed, Technic bricks are used to make the transition nice and strong.

At the end of the first bag, we get some black 1x4x3 slopes which are called out as being relatively rare parts (at least in black) by the instructions. There are more nuggets of information sprinkled throughout, giving something of a running commentary as we go.

We can set all that aside for now, and build two large, symmetrical sub-assemblies from the next two bags. It wasn’t until about halfway through bag two that I realized we’re building the upper deck! The giveaways are the brick-texture bricks used as deck planks, and the Technic rack mimicking stairs.

Covering all that up is a selection of black slope elements that make up the prow. Many of these are relatively uncommon in this colour. In fact, of the ones shown below, only one has a set count in the double digits (the 3x8x2 compound slope), while the curved slope on the far left and the large black panel are all-new recolours. There are a whopping 22 of the 1×6 slope, too, which had hitherto only appeared in one other set!

With these layered on, we can attach the entire thing to the keel. Although the stand is useful here, I found that actually connecting it securely was easier done by removing the stand, and re-instating the model afterwards.

Here’s what we have with both sides complete.

There’s plenty of sideways studs on show, and we’re going to make good use of them in the next bag (and indeed throughout the rest of the review). Our first port of call is to add some nice detailing to the front of the prow. The Endurance isn’t as ostentatious as some ships of old, but it still has the odd flourish!

As well as sideways building, we’re going to see a lot of a new printed element in this set. A gold 1×1 tile has been printed with a black disc to make for a smart-looking porthole. We only have two in the first bag, but the whole kit includes 32 of them (as well as three spares).

Much of the rest of the bag goes to preparing another odd-to-even stud transition for the forecastle (that’s the raised bit at the front of old ships like this). It’s held in with more slopes of decreasing angles, which includes a very smart single white stripe.

Bag 5 sees the central cabin come together. The one-wide keel means that this assembly is made at a nominal – and fairly unusual – 5 studs of width.

The whole thing is locked in with more brick-brick decking, which in turn provide attachment points for the panels used on the hull. Despite being mostly hollow, everything feels pretty strong so far.

Back to the front now, to add more details to the forecastle. It’s conventional studs-up building for now.

There’s a bunch of medium nougat skeleton legs here, which hold in the railings. The two at the very front are placed in adjacent studs; the instructions say to place them ‘toes-in’, as is the case with all the others. But you can’t place them thus without them clashing, and therefore being at asymmetric angles. It’s not a big deal – rotating them through 180° fixes the issue – but it’s odd this wasn’t picked up in the development phase.

The final act of bag six is to make a stand that’s a bit more elegant than the one we’ve been using so far. But it’s not for the front of the ship…

… As we go straight into building the central portion of the Endurance. Much of the construction is similar to what we saw at the beginning, with a one-stud wide core incorporating Studs Not on Top (SNOT) bricks.

It does come together a bit quicker, though: the hull paneling is already going on by the end of the second bag of the middle portion. Many of these panels were covered in scratches from other parts in the packaging, which is a shame. I do wonder if the more rigid paper bags make this more likely, as there is less room for the parts to move around. At least they don’t really show up in the photos!

The next pair of bags goes towards the central cabins. The first is a continuation of the one we started on the front third of the ship. In essence, it’s an empty box with SNOT walls.

The aft (rear) cabin is started as well, but its construction is slightly different. For a start, it’s wider; but the sideways connections are accomplished using brackets instead of SNOT bricks. Technic aficionados should take note of the reddish orange 168.75° connector, too – this is a pretty new addition to the angled connector family. It first appeared just a few months ago in 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 PROFESSIONAL Line.

Now we’re ready to lock this all in with some decking. Two big ‘brick’ brick assemblies are sandwiched by a variety of plate-based subassemblies. The tiles on the outside give a good impression of the thick planks used for Endurance‘s mighty hull.

The next bag (12, for those counting along at home) is entirely dedicated to this pair of assemblies. No, they’re not turbolasers – these are the rails that will ‘support’ the lifeboats later on.

And now, it gets exciting! We’re going to join the centre and front sections together. You may have noticed a few reddish-brown 2×3 trailer plates at the end of each bit of boat. As we marry the two parts together, these plates will line up and we can slot a Technic axle in to hold everything together.

Once that’s done, the temporary stand is removed, and the permanent one moved forwards to better support both halves. Suddenly, it looks a lot more boat-like.

Even without the stand, the connection between the two portions is very strong. At no point while I was manhandling the Endurance did I feel like something was about to break.

We’re not done with our temporary dry-dock stand, though, as we still have the stern to build. There’s a snazzy gold propeller on this section – and interestingly, it’s called out as being deliberately inaccurate, so as to add a bit more visual interest to the model. I’m not sure how I feel about such artistic license being applied to a set that’s supposed to be historically accurate, but then again, if it hadn’t been mentioned I doubt I would’ve known it was wrong.

The first of three masts goes on here, and the rear one is integrated into the rest of the keel structure. It’s a similar trick to the one we saw at the front, where a 2×2 plate sits atop a jumper plate, and is shored up with some 1×1 Technic bricks.

And again, just like the front, the next two bags will go towards symmetrical sideways sections for the aft hull.

Then, we can attach one of the more exciting parts in the set – the printed nameplate. This is attached using brackets and – er… Hang on. Where’s my bracket? All I got was a 2×2 red corner plate…

That’s another parts error to add to our tally this year (and the second in a row for this reviewer). Fortunately I have a good stock of these 1×2 brackets, but it goes without saying that I shouldn’t need to be dipping into my own collection to correct LEGO’s mistakes – and that’s putting it mildly.

That bracket is crucial to attach the nameplate to the back of the ship. It’s a touch unfortunate that the missing part has come here, as I’d rather focus on the fabulous 2×4 printed tile that bears this vessel’s name.

The last few parts from bag 15 make up most of the remaining internal structure, plus the last of our big hull panels.

That internal structure has so far prevented any meaningful detailing on the inside of the ship, but we’re going to put that right now! First up are the aft-most cabins. They appear to be a captain’s quarters – complete with a new 2×2 map print of Antarctica – and a small galley or kitchen. Those grey rods sticking up through the floor represent steam pipes that were used to keep the place warm in the freezing conditions.

Once again, it’s all sideways building. It can be slightly disorientating when starting these little sub-assemblies!

Next is something that I always enjoy building as a petrolhead: an engine. The construction is quite clever, using hinges to go from two to three studs wide while simultaneously inverting the orientation.

Of course, it needs to be an odd number of studs to sit easily within the rest of the ship. And once it’s in we waste no time building up the rest of the boat around it. First the skeleton from the remaining bits in bag 17…

… Then a bag each for the external paneling on the port and starboard sides.

There’s another new black element in amongst all this: this gently curved 2x10x2 slope. This is only the element’s eighth appearance since it popped up in 10295 Porsche 911 Turbo, and the first time in black. There’s only one of each side though.

The final act before moving on is to string a white flex tube across the stern of the ship. Here’s how that smorgasbord of slopes looks from the underside.

With the ship righted, work continues on the top deck, which uses more Technic rack stairs.

Although this is a display set first and foremost, it does still find room to incorporate a movable rudder. It’s inconspicuous, but very simple: a couple of gears are linked to an axle, which pokes below deck and affixes the rudder. You’d be forgiven for not noticing it if you weren’t looking for it!

After applying some finishing touches, it’s time to link back to the rest of the boat. It’s the same method as before, but it’s just as rewarding – if not more – to see the whole thing come together.

Much of what we do from here on out will be sub-assemblies that attach to the main model, rather than building directly onto it. To start with, we have the upper decks, made in three separate sections. Those 1×2 18° slopes are new in dark brown, by the way.

Two of the three sections are removable. The one at the very back sits in a little channel that was created as a result of the way the cabins are made.

Remember those medium nougat skeleton legs we attached to the front? Well, we have a bunch more here! As we continue to build up the top decks, 38 of them (making a total of 56 for the whole set) are locked in with a healthy selection of white 3.18mm bars.

There’s an interesting addition to that particular family of parts, too. Originally introduced as a clear piece to hold flying superheroes, eight of these curved bars have been re-coloured in white to form the lifeboat cranes. Once they’re put in alongside the chimney – which makes use of that reddish orange Technic connector – and the masts, our model suddenly has a lot more vertical presence.

And speaking of lifeboats, they’re precisely what we’ll be building next. Much like their mother ship, they consist of a one-stud wide core around which curved slopes are attached. They’re nice little builds.

There are four in total, but they’re made in pairs; the second set is a stud longer than the first two. Presumably one of these is the James Caird, on which Shackleton made his famous voyage to South Georgia, although it’s not clear which one it would be.

It feels like we’re on the home stretch now. A series of crossbeams made up of Technic axles and connectors extend the fore (front) and mizzen (rear) masts, albeit to different extents. The most interesting bit about this stage of the build is the barrel representing the crow’s nest. I’m slightly surprised that this is its first appearance in white!

Connecting Technic axles to connectors and vice-versa isn’t that exciting, to be honest – but our final bag is going to make sure we end with a bang. Buckle in, as this will take a while! First things first, we make some rigging so we can climb the masts if needed.

Three pairs are made with the same basic concept: dark tan flex tubes linked with droid arms. The only real difference is at the base, changing depending on how it’s attached to the hull. They’re actually pretty tricky to assemble without making them twist or bow outwards. I tried a few different methods, and I found the best way was to start in the middle and work outwards as you attach the droid arms. All I’ll say is it’s not one for the perfectionists.

Pretty much all we have left now are the bowsprit, sails and ensign (the flag at the back). The Endurance is a barquentine – that is, it has one squarely rigged foremast, while the rest of the sails are smaller ones running parallel to the ship. All elements are of the heavier cloth that LEGO likes to use for large elements like this. Some are provided in duplicate.

There are also two lengths of string included. At first I was expecting to have to brush up on my knowledge of boy scouts’ knots; thankfully, everything was intentionally designed to be knot-free! Our first string slots into a Technic bush, and is then held in place by the friction of axle bushes either side.

You do have to pay a little attention to where it comes out, but it’s by far preferable to tying tiny knots. All we need to do subsequently is to thread it through the first jib (that’s the triangular sail at the front) and the masts.

At the other end, the string is passed through a Technic beam. Once you’ve set the tension, it’s locked in with a shaft with ball joint element. We’ve seen loads of these in dark bluish gray (and a handful of other colours) over the years, but this is the first time they’ve appeared in black.

Then, rinse and repeat for the second string. Both pass through the masts at different points, which makes them look suitably functional. In fact, they are, to an extent – they help to keep the masts a little more stable. They’re a little wobbly if left free-standing.

We do have a lot of excess string to deal with, which is where this spool comes in. Simply lock in the strings with an axle, as we did before; wind them up; and store them below deck. (Be careful not to damage the rigging in the process, like I did here!)

All that is rather time-consuming, but it’s well worth the end result – which we’ll look at shortly. For now, we have one last part to attach: this smart display plaque. The Endurance‘s stats are printed Top Trumps-style onto a 6×6 tile.

The finished model

After an enjoyable build process, we can take a step back and look at the boat we’ve built. And it has to be said: it’s stunning.

The real Endurance was 44m (144 feet) long, and at 80cm (31.5 in) sprit-to-stern, that makes this set somewhere in the region of 1:55 scale. It’s not advertised as being minifigure scale, but this can be anywhere between 1:35 to 1:60, so figs wouldn’t look out of place on it. Just don’t try and fit them into the cabins.

The less LEGO-like elements like the sails and string really go a long way to elevate this set beyond mere LEGO model to attractive display piece. The same goes for the rigging, with my only real gripe being their tendency to bow outwards if not assembled just right.

The little details sprinkled throughout are really nice too. I’m particularly fond of the engine and lifeboats, which can all be removed. Getting that middle deck section out is pretty fiddly with the sails and rigging in place though.

The only ‘play feature’ – if you can call it that – is the movable rudder. If you didn’t know it was there you’d be forgiven for missing the fact that you can move it (and I forgot that a few times when moving this thing around!). But for a set that’s for display first and foremost, that’s exactly the kind of function you want: unobtrusive. And it works pretty smoothly to boot.

Finally, it is possible to balance the ship on its keel to display without its stand. I wouldn’t recommend it though. I very nearly tipped it over setting up for this photo, which was a real heart-in-mouth moment!

Conclusions and recommendation

Before I go on, let’s talk about parts errors. Unless a missing part is in a new or rare colourway, or is a new one altogether, chances are that AFOLs like me have got a replacement in their collection already. But if this is someone’s first LEGO set, a missing part like the one we had here is a show-stopper. You can of course get replacements from LEGO’s customer service (and to be fair, I’ve found them to be unfailingly helpful), but it can really put a downer on the build experience. In extreme cases, it can even turn people off the hobby, so I really hope LEGO is working on a fix for what’s seemingly becoming a chronic problem.

But is all that enough to stop me from recommending the set outright? To be honest… No. Now full disclosure: I am squarely within the target audience for a kit like this. I’m fascinated by polar exploration, I love historical models, and boats and ships are some of my favourite things to display. But even with my more neutral reviewer’s hat on, the design of this ship is fantastic. The way it’s built is super interesting, with plenty of unique elements; at times it didn’t feel like I was building a LEGO set. And as if I haven’t said it enough, it looks phenomenal. If you get a set with all 3,011 pieces correctly accounted for, you will certainly not be disappointed. And if the QC lottery deals you a bad hand, be sure to ask for a replacement part from LEGO’s customer service.

LEGO Icons 10335 The Endurance contains 3,011 pieces, and will retail for US $269.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99 starting from November 29. It may also be available from third-party sellers such as Amazon or eBay.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

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