This starts totally off-topic so bare with me. As a skateboarder and snowboarder, we tend to look at the world with different eyes. As a skater, we can look at a ledge and think, "skate that". We saw a slanted wall or a bank and we think, "skate that." As a snowboard, it's very much the same. A weird bump in the run, we think, "hit that". In terms of GI Joe, I have found that I keep my eyes open when cruising around. I haven't quite gotten to the point of stopping, pulling out a Joe or two and then taking a shot. However, I have taken a Joe or 3 on trips just in case something strikes me as a way awesome place. I took a whole bunch up to Victoria, BC but alas, I got lazy. I admit, these days I absolutely LOVE the weapon cases that come with the Sigma6 figures. They are perfect for backgrounds, warehouse scenes, whatever!

As for coming up with stories for the dios, it comes from all over. Maybe there's something from Aliens I like. Or something from Clear and Present Danger (in my dio, "The Ultimate Weapon", my opening scene is taken from the sequence where Ding is being checked out by Clark). I get ideas from everywhere.

Seeing stuff that people do here and on other boards, it helps a lot too. Luke, Fred, Outrider, and a slew of others get me pumped to want to shoot. A lot of it comes with just 'playing' with the figures and what you can come up with. Sometimes, that awesome scene you just created has to have a story go with it, even if you have to make up the story to cater to just 1 shot.