The best of the former and the latter are the models you can see on this site. A toy like one of these bigger models would cost you in excess of £50-90 in the stores. Even better, this type of toy is 100% customised, instantly repairable, and easily recyclable. Most of the models you see here enjoyed about 3-6 months of active service before being cannibalised for yet another big model.

The key to doing all of this, of course, is building a Lego collection that's large and varied enough to meet your needs. We have a collection now that would have been regarded as the mother lode when I was a child, but I'm of the opinion that you can never have too much Lego.

Building a Lego Collection

Over the last 12 months, we've been slowly building up a large collection composed of:

New Sets
The main problem with buying Lego new is that it's rarely on special. Sometimes you get lucky when a certain set goes out of fashion (we picked up a lot of Star Wars Episode 1 material this way). We normally bide our time with new sets, keep an eye out for bargains, then hide them in the cupboard ready for Christmas, upcoming birthdays and the like. Lugnet has an excellent guide to the best buys online.

Sets from ebay
ebay is the best place to pick up semi-new and 'classic' sets, plus the occasional bulk set of mixed or similar brick types/colours. We've rarely been disappointed buying a set via ebay, but you should spend time reading this excellent guide before you try it yourself.

Pieces from BrickLink
BrickLink not only lets you buy in bulk from private sellers, it also allows you to build your shopping list piece by piece. This is great for picking up all of those fiddly specialist pieces and/or specific colour bricks you need when you have a particular model in mind.

Car Boot Sales
These open-air sales have been the source of the bulk of our collection. If you keep your eye out for a bargain and aren't afraid to haggle, you can pick up some fantastic stuff (and a lot of it) for next to nothing. Sometimes you can pick up an entire box comprised of three or four sets for less than £10 (we once got very lucky with a box containing over 120 mixed wing pieces for £5).

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