welfycat

I have $165 in VIP points saved up right now (which has taken around a year). I'm currently waiting to see what the new Marvel Helicarrier set looks like since it has been rumored to be pretty expensive. If I like it, I'll probably put my VIP points towards it. If not, I might get the Detective's Office or the Parisian Restaurant. If not those, I might get a few of the more expensive Marvel Age of Ultron sets with the points, or get the Elves series with the points.

I often like to find inspiration for scenes and dioramas from google images. So, I'll put in a key word or two (so in your case you might put "swamp" or "swamp rangers" or "swamp scene") and gather ideas from images I like. For example, looking through the swamp pictures, I like the water and presence of those fan driven boats, and I like how the greenery is looming close to everything, and I like the way the buildings often look run down. You, of course, can pick whatever you'd like. From there I would look at the pieces I have and spread things out to see how things might go together and what sort of scale they would be. I know many people like to sketch out their concept, so if drawing helps you visualize what you'd like your diorama to look like, that's great. Then it's a matter of building up your scene, trying things out, seeing what works and what doesn't. Don't be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. You can always take things apart and rebuild it, that's the beauty of working with Lego. Good luck!

We've used the transparent, shallow plastic tubs for the kid's Lego collection. Sometimes they stay in the tubs when they're looking for things, but more often than not everything gets dumped onto an old bedsheet we spread out on the floor. When they're done playing, we gather up the corners of the bedsheet and use it as a sort of funnel to pour the Lego back into the tubs. The tubs then get stacked in the corner of the bedroom (or sometimes the living room) until we want them next. This seems to be the method that works best for us in terms of keeping the Lego off the floor while still making it accessible.

Carrots! I'm not even sure why, but I really love the little carrot pieces, especially with the green stem pieces and then a piece to "plant" them into the ground. Farms are probably my favorite thing to make.