Another week, another round of interviews. Today we meet Garrett Grourley, a.k.a. gman13579 and his rocktastic AMETHYST GEODE project. This is one for the geological fans out there - geology rocks! Leave Garrett a like to show your support.
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Garrett Gourley.
- Where are you from?
Severna Park, Maryland, USA.
- How old are you?
30.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I am a reservist in the United States Navy as a Cryptologist. My primary job is as a client success manager, maintaining good client relations for the continued use of the product.
- What hobbies do you have?
I am an avid LEGO designer (obviously), and I’m a huge movie and TV buff. Shows like The Last of Us, Parks and Recreation, Star Trek, and Star Wars. To movies like Everything Everywhere All at Once, Avatar, Infinity War, and many more. I like skiing and hiking with my wife and dog Luna. Our favourite hobby is travelling and trying new foods.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
Instagram and Flickr.
- Have you created any LEGO MOCs (my own creations) that you’re particularly proud of? What is it, why are you proud of it and do you have a photo of it?
Well, this I am very fond of, but there is another one that I love to talk about. I have always enjoyed the Ultimate Collections series from the LEGO Star Wars line. I especially love the Galactic Empire ships, but there are two that haven’t been considered. One is the First Order Star Destroyer, but my favourite is the Supremacy. I took on the challenge of building it on a UCS scale. It’s almost 6 feet long and has a blend of bluish greys and standard greys to give it an off-coloured pattern. I’ve never fully built it other than in my digital library.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
I got my first set when I was about 6 years old. From there my love for LEGO only grew. My favourite series were Bionicle, Adventurers, and Rock Raiders. I started MOC building soon after that.
- What is the LEGO hobby to you? What does it mean to you? How does it fit in your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
LEGO building is a huge part of my life. I believe that we should all keep our imagination alive no matter our age. LEGO bricks are just the best way to do that. LEGO bricks are my creative medium and if anyone asked you one fact about me it would be I’m a LEGO nerd and I’m proud of it! It’s a community of creative people and I couldn’t be happy without it in my life.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
That is an extremely difficult choice to make. There have been so many themes that I have loved. The one I go back to the most is Rock Raiders. It was an amazing theme that I actually collected all but one of the sets. I truly loved playing outside in the dirt and my Rock Raiders crew would come with me. I guess you could say that this geode was an inspiration and an ode to the theme.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
I used to say the UCS Millennium Falcon, but I think I’m going to change it to the Titanic. I’m always been a huge fan of the story and as a kid, had tons of models of it around my bedroom. So finally being able to create it in LEGO form was a dream come true.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
The Modified 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 with Studs on Side is one of my favourite bricks ever. I appreciate it because of the strength it can give to a model when I’m creating side-attached elements. Having 4 connecting studs makes it so sturdy and easy to carry a lot of weight.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
There are far too many amazing designers out there to just pick one! Officially designer I’d have to say is Sven Franic. I’ve always wanted a type 2 VW Bus and the day it came out was a wonderful surprise! Fan designers that inspire me are Onecase on Instagram with his amazing Star Wars designs and Koen Zwanenburg with too many builds to choose from!
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
The places I most frequently go to for LEGO-related things are Instagram and Rebrickable. Most people are so creative and there are so many different outlets. Instagram I can get a wide range of amazing designs from so many different builders and the same can be said for Rebrickable where people get to share their work with others to purchase or get some designs for free!
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
It was inspired by another designer that I noted above, Zoen Zwaneburg. He had created an amethyst geode a few years ago and when I interview him for my podcast I was fascinated by the build and had to make one myself! But also my love for minerals and geodes as a kid. I had a mineral set that was my dads from the 1970s and I’d take them out and learn how they were made and try finding them in my backyard. Amethyst has always been my favourite mineral so I had to put that in my geode, something that is a total surprise until you break it open!
- How long was the process of making the project, and what did you have to research as well? What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
This build actually might have taken the longest build of all of my own creations. I say that, but I still have others I haven’t finished, this just happened to be the one I finished! I think it was a process of at least 2 years over pockets of time. I did a ton of Google image searches to show all the different types of geodes, shapes, and colors so I could get it to be close to something someone would recognize but still have a unique design to it. I have at least 10 stud.io files with different itera/ons of the design trying my best to not only have studs facing outside for the outer rock shell but also inside to have the amethyst minerals.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
One of the easiest challenges to see in this model is the fact that I had to turn the studs around to face inwards in the model, not only in a very confined space, but also do it in an inward-curving manner. This took tens of hours to figure out how to get close enough to be semi-interlocking but still maintain some stability. Once I had it down it was all about placing the 1x1 sloped bricks (cheese wedges) in place that looked random but could not interview with an inward covering section next to it.
- If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell them? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
That all you have to do is start. So it’s a challenge, that’s why it’s fun! You get to learn some new tricks and make something you and 10,000 people will be very proud of.
- How long did it take to complete the model? Did you finish it fairly quickly, or did it take a long time? And how did the build time compare to the time you spent promoting your Product Idea to reach 10,000 supporters?
It took some time to design and build in stud.io, but to be honest, I couldn’t tell you how long! It took 1 year and 3 days to get my 10,000 votes so let’s just round it out to 3 years for this model to come to life!
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
I was ecstatic. My wife and I had been watching it all day and I actually missed when I passed 10,000 supporters. She texted a photo to me and told me how proud she was of me and that it’s amazing how many people appreciate my work. In total, it took 1 year and 3 days to achieve 10,000 supporters.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The original model was about 1360 pieces. But with changes made and features added by the request of my supporters, it now is about 2800 pieces in total.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
One of my favourite parts was using all the 1x1 trans-purple “cheese wedge” bricks for the geode details. I cannot tell you another set that uses so many trans-purple pieces! It was a job to fix them at different angles so that when you shine a light into the model it is scattered everywhere just like a real geode.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
It was built in stud.io by Rebrickable and a friend of mine rendered the build using Blender.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Build what you love and share it. Who knows, someone else or 10,000 other people might love it just as much as you do. When you do submit yours, listen to your supporters, they probably have thought of things you’d never even considered putting in your model to make it that much better! Also, document the process of making it. People love to go on a journey with you.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
I would reach out to as many of my friends as possible. I also promoted it heavily on my Instagram accounts and reached out to other friends in the LEGO community to get their support. Also just being present on the Ideas page. Support other people’s builds, and comment back to those that supported your build, it’s that easy!
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
I was a supporter of the Ideas program when it was LEGO CUUSOO, there are so many ideas that could have been LEGO sets. My favourite LEGO Ideas sets are the Saturn V rocket, Doctor Who, and Tron. Some that I wish had been made were the Clockwork Solar System by ChrisOrchard, Gravity Falls, the Sony Walkman, and the Concorde.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
It gives us AFOLs a chance to build something we love and get the chance to have it made into an official LEGO set. I’d recommend people just build what they love and throw it on there! What harm can it do, might even surprise you how many people love your build too!
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint what that might be?
I have far too many ideas to submit! But taking the time to clean them up and get ready to make a splash takes time. I currently have two ideas going through the Bricklink Designer Program Series 1. An oscillating desk fan and a fungus collection hoping to be considered for a Bricklink set! But one I can hint at is it’s something we bakers love!
