It’s Phillip here, otherwise known as Grumblebricks.
I am a Comedy writer, LegoIdeas designer, and freelance Lego artist.
This is now my fourth Substack pulication. The other three are all writing related, with one being reserved just in case my main one crashes.
So why a Substack?
Substack is the best way for me to reach through the crowded spaces of twitter, instagram, flickr, reddit, and show you cool stuff I’ve made. Because I do so much varied stuff, it becomes important to give each audience their own space. Whilst a lot of my Bionicle friends have supported my fiction, not everyone who wants to see a Lego spaceship wants to listen to a silly poem, so this space is important.
It’s a clean(ish) place where I can show you the Lego art I made. No distractions, no news about upcoming books* or comedy gigs. Just bricks and bricks and bricks.
*One of the books is about Lego, so I may mention that one.
So who am I?
I’m a guy who felt very disheartened when my friends in school started getting rid of their Lego. Something about it hurt me. I guess I saw it as a loss of freedom. Suits and ties, office cubicles, one job at a time. It was all very regimented, and I didn’t fit in.
Right now I’m looking at a possible diagnosis of Autism/ADHD which would explain a lot. I think one of the reasons I’ve struggled to build an online audience is because of how varied my output can be. I vanished off social media once for nine months to write a book. Other times I’ll complete a project like the ART HOUSE in three days, and forget to advertise it. That one was on LegoIdeas but only got a few votes before dying off. The simple fact is that you stand a better chance if you have a bigger audience.
In fact, I think the Art House is so good that I’ve been worried someone might steal the idea. I’ve seen it happen to mech designers a lot.
What do I create?
When it comes to Lego, I primarily create Bionicle stuff in the real world, and system stuff in the digital world. I just find it easier that way. The odd angles and part relationships in Technic are hard to discover and play with in a digital space, whereas the basis bricks and plates of Lego System are much easier to toy with in that same digital space. It also means I can run my little bookstore from my bedroom/office without having to bump into my Lego city every time I bend my knees.
You will find instructions and creativty workshops about Lego here.
Bionicle?
Yes. Bionicle is that Sci-Fi Lego IP which got me into Science Fiction as a kid. It’s an integral part of my development alongside David Bowie interviews and dark comedy that I stayed up to watch at night. If you subscribe to me here, you’ll see my Bionicle stories for free. Some chapters are for subscribers only so I can make sure you all see them in the right order.
Why you should subscribe.
Because it’s free and it’s fun. Subscribers get early access to new photos and renders of mocs, short stories about my Bionicle fan universe, pictures of prototype parts, and other fun things.
Subscriber-only content also helps me work out where a leak comes from, in the rare event that some instructions I post turn up elsewhere. I have big plans for Grumblebricks and I hope you like them.
You can also find me at:
My writing Substack (free chapters and stories, forever)
My publishing Substack (free writing advice, paid coaching)
My LEGOIDEAS (for mocs I want to turn into official sets)
My Lego instagram (mocs, reviews, etc)
My Youtube (Minecraft content, podcasts, Lego reviews)
Thanks for being here,
-Grumblebricks
Bionicle!
bionicle