Making Phillip Finder
—Originally, Phillip was going to be more of a pony version of Sherlock Holmes. His original name was in fact Hooflock Holmes or Sherhoof Holmes. However, I scrubbed this as too unoriginal and decided to give him more of a modern noir influence.
—I chose the name Phillip as a nod to Phillip Marlowe, the literary private detective created by Raymond Chandler.
—Phillip originally spoke with an English accent, but I changed it to a Cockney accent, then Australian. His backstory of Sydneigh came from that.
—Phillip's vest came from when I was creating him in Pony Creator. I gave him a vest on a whim, realizing that he would need somewhere to store his gear.
—I briefly envisioned Phillip wearing an akubra, but I decided it was too silly and kept the trilby.
—The idea for Phillip's crime sense came out of a need to explain how he was able to arrive at the crime scene.

Part 1
—This story is loosely based off of The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
—"sheilas": Australian slang, "girls."

Part 2
—Hoo roo: Australian slang, "Good bye."

Part 3
—It occurred to me that crime probably wasn't as big a problem in Equestria as to give Phillip enough business. That spawned the idea of him being a street musician/occasional performer to support his income.
—Joshua Redcolt's Adagio: Adagio by Joshua Redman
—Surely the significance of Phillip living at 221 B is too obvious to mention.
—Phillip playing music when he's thinking is another nod to Sherlock Holmes, who was known for playing the violin when contemplating a difficult problem.
—I'm a detective. That means I solve mysteries. Not mysteries such as, 'what is the purpose of life,' as that falls within the category of philosophic conundrums. I solve practical mysteries: This dialogue parodies the Team Fortress 2 video Meet the Engineer

Part 4
—"name, rank and favorite brand of cereal": reference to name, rank and serial number, which all military prisoners of war are required to give under interrogation.
—I don't know where I got the idea for Phillip to be able to do parkour, but I liked it, so I kept it.

Part 5
—"flathoof": play on flatfoot, an insulting name for a detective.

Part 6
—Central Colt Park West: Central Park West by Avishai Cohen. Central Colt Park is of course a reference to Central Park in NYC.
—Phillip's backstory was based off of Spider-Man's.