My final two Shrines to Asuryan have now been painted, marking the first models of 2026 to be finished. I am now working on painting Jain Zar, ramining members of the first of my three squads of Howling Banshees and their Exarch. I'm making good progress with the Banshees and hope to have them finished in the next couple of weeks (Jain Zar will take longer).

I'm now able to reveal some of the work I've done on my Warp Spiders and their Exarch. The main change that I've made is to add a warp portal to every model, to give the impression that they have just emerged from the warp. This also ties them into the model of their Phoenix Lord, Lhykhis, whom I've also been working on. The plastic model of Fuegan is nearly assembled too, so I've retired my older, metal conversion.

As 2025 draws to a close, I am delighted to say that I have finished painting my conversion of the new plastic model of the Dire Avenger Phoenix Lord,Asurmen and one of the three remaining Shrines to Asuryan. As a result, my total number of painted models finished in 2025 is fourteen, which I am very proud of! I have now painted all four of my Dire Avenger squads and their Phoenix Lord, so this Aspect in my collection is completely finished.

Looking ahead to 2026, I am aiming to assemble the new other plastic Phoenix Lords, the Warhammer+ exclusive model "Infinity's Lament" and some of the new plastic Aspects too. My main focus will be the Warp Spiders (I have been working on something special for these and can't wait to reveal some photos) and Lhykhis.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to visit my little corner of the internet and for everyone that has posted comments or e-mailed me; it's great to here from other collectors of the best faction in Warhammer 40,000! Have a great Christmas and New Year and I wish you all the best for your Eldar collecting in 2026.

I have finished painting my Dire Avengers from the Shrine of the Sable Helm, which marks the last of my twenty Dire Avengers (four squads of five; each squad is painted to represent a different shrine). This takes my total number of models painted in 2025 up to a personal-best of twelve! I am still working on painting my conversion of the Dire Avenger Phoenix Lord, Asurmen and I'm expecting to have him finished in the next few days, along with at least one more of the three remaining Shrines to Asuryan (the Dire Avenger Aspect Shrine tokens). If 2025 has ended up being the "Year of the Avenger" then I'm planning for 2026 to be the "Year of the Spider" as I'm hoping to finish assembling (and painting) a squad of the new plastic Warp Spiders and their Phoenix Lord, Lhykhis. The Warp Spiders have been one of my favourite Aspects ever since 2nd Edition and the new models are great.

As an aside, I added a couple of transfers to my first Wraithblade, which I think really makes it look more striking. I'll definitely repeat this with the other Wraithblades and Wraithguard and I plan to use different combinations of transfers for each squad.

I am thrilled to declare that I have finished painting my conversion of the Avatar of Khaine, a mere eighteen years after first assembling it! This takes my total of models painted this year (so far) to eight. In addition, I've created three more Shrines to Asuryan, so I have four in total (one for each of my Dire Avenger squads). I have finished assembling a conversion of the new, plastic version of the Phoenix Lord Asurmen - my original metal version has now been retired.

I am pleased to say that I have continued painting throughout the last few months and should have more models to add to the site soon. I have also secured my own Infinity's Lament Spiritseer, which I am very much looking forward to assembling and painting as well.

The Guide to Eldar Runes and Symbols has had another small update too.

This year's large Eldar release has definitely inspired me; I've painted seven models so far this year (which, for me, is pretty fast!), assembled several conversions and started on more. I've also played my first few (casual) games of 10th edition, thanks to my son starting his own collection of Craftworld Saim Hann. In no particular order:


I have painted the Dire Avenger Exarch of the Shrine of the Lilac Thorn, completing the squad.
The Dire Avengers of the Shrine of the Resplendent Blade and their Exarch have been painted.
I painted this Shrine to Khaine in his aspect of Murehk, the Scorpion.
I have assembled a major conversion of the plastic Maugan Ra, replacing my (now retired) metal version.
I completed a conversion of an Autarch Skyrunner (just in time for the model to be dropped entirely from the new codex!).
I added a rare, limited release Juan Diaz sculpt of a Warlock to my collection (with some minor adjustments).
I've nearly finished painting my conversion of the Avatar of Khaine; I assembled this model over 18 years ago!

Lastly, my Guide to Eldar Runes and Symbols has been updated with some new runes, with more to follow soon.

A few updates on various projects to round out 2024. I've been making steady progress on assembling my Haven Spire from Battlefleet Gothic; the replacement warp vanes for my Wraithknight are finished and I've assembled and undercoated another scenery piece. I've also undercoated my second squad of Dark Reapers and their Exarch.

In painting news, I actually hit my target of painting ten models this year (admittedly, four of them were previously finished models that were repainted to change their colour scheme, but I'm counting it!). This is because my focus for the past couple of months has been four Dire Avenger squads; I am painting each one in a different colour scheme to represent different shrines and I am reworking the colours of some of my original 10-member Dire Avenger squad to fill out the ranks. Generally I'm now preferring small squads of Aspect Warriors from individual shrines as this adds more visual variety to my collection and also allows for a better Exarch-to-warrior ratio. I am also now giving each squad/shrine a name; some are direct copies of those found in the codex, some are my own invention. The four squads are at varying stages of completion and I aim to have all twenty models totally finished early next year.

The recent announcement of a host of new models for various Phoenix Lords and Aspect Warriors is very exciting. I'll likely retire my own conversions of the original metal Phoenix Lords (as pleased as I have been with them) in favour of the new models, which I don't think even need much (or any) conversion work, except possibly changing the bases and filling in some details on the faceplates of Asurmen and Fuegan.

All in all, 2024 was a productive year for me and 2025 looks set to be a landmark year for the Eldar in terms of new models. I feel that my painting is improving steadily and I'm getting into more of a rhythm with painting models, so with any luck I'll get at least another ten models painted next year too.

I've now finished painting my Farseer Skyrunner conversion. I'm now working on painting more of my Dire Avenger squads and Exarchs, including new colour scheme to differentiate between different shrines of the same warrior Aspect.

I've recently finished painting a pair of scenery elements - statues to Asuryan and Khaine's aspect as Reaper. I enjoyed painting these, as they add a little character to the collection and they would be useful as objective markers. They're fun little additions to the plastic kits and I'm glad that the designers at Games Workshop decided to include them. Additionally, I've made good progress on painting my Farseer Skyrunner and I hope to have that fully finished in the coming weeks. Finally, I've revisited the design of the warp vanes on my Wraithknight conversion and I'm much happier with the changes I'm making, which will reduce the sizze of the additional vanes behind the shoulders.

I'm pleased to have finished painting my second Bonesinger (actually the first Bonesinger that I purchased, way back in 2007). This is probably my most accomplished paintjob to date, with some more advanced blending on the cloak and scenic base. I'd hoped to have painted more models by this point in 2024, but other things keep getting in the way. Still, I'm committed to continuing to work my steadily through the huge number of unpainted models in my collection, especially when the results are so satisfying.

I have finished assembling my second squad of Dark Reapers, using the new plastic kit. I took the opportunity to sculpt some more feminine armour for some of the squad members and the Exarch. I have also finished painting four more Battlefleet Gothic ships - three Aconite frigates and a converted cruiser that I've named the Nimbus class.

I was also very fortunate to secure a metal recast of an extremely rare Warlock sculpt by Shane Hoyle, which I've made a few modifications to. You can see the results at the end of this page.

2023 was a bit of a slow year for painting and assembling models (I didn't manage to undercoat anything), but I'm hoping to do more in 2024. I am looking forward to adding a 5-person squad of the new, plastic Striking Scorpions and I'm keen to see if the rumours of plastic Warp Spiders pan out.

I finally got around to finishing the last three Dark Reapers in my first squad (I have a second squad currently being assembled, using the new plastic kit). I also took the opportunity to improve the highlights and some details on the first model in the squad to give them a consistent finish. I'm pleased to have completed the squad and I like the colour scheme, which complements the Miruaun colour scheme well.

I'm now deciding on what model(s) to paint next, whilst also working on some scenic bases and magnetised weapon options in the meantime.

So I didn't quite manage to paint 10 models in 2022, but I did finish the Dark Reaper Exarch on New Year's Eve, bringing my total for the year to 7. I have three more Dark Reapers that are nearly fully painted and I hope to have them finished soon. I also recently finished assembly, conversion work and undercoating of all of my Warlocks; I now have four with Singing Spears and nine with Witchblades. Work on these models took most of the year and required a lot of Green Stuff Sculpting; I'm glad to have them done and I was pleased to be able to include three female Warlocks after settling on a design for the rune armour.

I've also undercoated my conversion of the plastic Jain Zar model and made some changes to my fifth Autarch.

All in all, 2022 was a pretty good year and I was pleased to see improvements in my painting. In 2023 I want to finish the remedial work on my Harlequins (fixing some gritty undercoat) and paint one of them (diamonds included). I'd also like to make some more progress on my Revenant Titan and assemble some of the new plastic kits (Storm Guardians, Rangers and Dark Reapers) that I bought in 2022.

Enjoy 2023 and I hope that my models continue to provide some ideas and inspiration for other Eldar collectors out there.