Too geek to function.

  • Fabulandosa

    Fabulandosa

    Estimated reading time: 2 minutes. I’ve made a new chonky chum for my mum’s Happy Plants, please say hello to Fabulandosa! Best known for his wonderful storytelling skills, this hardy little chap was first introduced to the UK in 1979.

  • Gnome Sweet Gnome

    Gnome Sweet Gnome

    Estimated reading time: 2 minutes. I designed Norman the Gnome for the Lego Ideas challenge ‘Timeless Creations’. Sadly, he didn’t make the Fan Vote stage, but I still love this wee guy! Inspiration Garden gnomes have been a design classic for over 200 years, first introduced as lawn ornaments during the 19th century. Now these…

  • Sharing My Story

    Sharing My Story

    Estimated reading time: < 1 minute. It’s been a busy, but rewarding, week at work and home. In the last 24 hours The Lego Group have published two personal videos documenting my sight loss disability and love for building with Braille bricks.

  • Cheesy Rider

    Cheesy Rider

    Estimated reading time: 5 minutes. Here is my latest Fabuland model which debuted at Bricktastic 2025. Hope you like cheesy puns!

  • Build your own paddle steamer

    Build your own paddle steamer

    Estimated reading time: 2 minutes. Build your own microscale paddle steamer, free PDF instructions and parts are now available on Rebrickable.

  • Five Years of Sight Loss

    Five Years of Sight Loss

    Estimated reading time: 3 minutes. Over the last five years I have written personal blog posts detailing my traumatic sight loss journey. To help others better understand the significant changes in my vision I also created a series of interactive simulations (H5P files).

  • New Hashima Hoverbike

    New Hashima Hoverbike

    Estimated reading time: 2 minutes. Build your own cute New Hashima hoverbike, free instructions now on Rebrickable.

  • A Nip of Whisky

    A Nip of Whisky

    Estimated reading time: 2 minutes. Celebrated 25 years at the University of Edinburgh in December 2024. Received a lovely commemorative decanter from the principal at the historic Playfair Library. Don’t drink whisky, so Lego it is!

  • Building a new home for Teaching Matters 

    Building a new home for Teaching Matters 

    Estimated reading time: 4 minutes. The University of Edinburgh’s popular Teaching Matters blog was successfully migrated from a standalone WordPress instance created in 2016 to the Academic Blogging Service’s WordPress service. This short post focuses on the technical challenges, new features and support/security benefits.

  • Book of Retro Lego Sets

    Book of Retro Lego Sets

    Estimated reading time: < 1 minute. Chuffed to have an interview with Geneva Durand in the Blocks Magazine ‘Book of Retro Lego Sets’ Volume II.

  • Maid of Fabuland

    Maid of Fabuland

    Estimated reading time: 14 minutes. Lego kindly invited me to build a Fabuland ship for the prestigious Lego House in Denmark. Going blind in one eye has been the hardest year and this creative challenge absolutely helped me move forward. Read about the ‘Maid of Fabuland’ paddle steamer and one of the happiest days ever.

  • Women in STEM Illustrations

    Women in STEM Illustrations

    Estimated reading time: 3 minutes. To celebrate Ada Lovelace Day 2024, I created two new colouring-in illustrations of notable Women in STEM – author and codebreaker Irene Jessie Brown, and geologist Charlotte Murchison. I also discuss AI enhancement tools and vision loss challenges associated with my design process.

Get in touch

If you have a question, commission, opportunity, or would like to send me something, please fill in this wee contact form.

Instagram (@stubot)