is not a real big fan of pre-painted minis, and he positively despises randomly-packed "collectable" ones - so why is he writing this article?
This wonderful figure crossed my workbench for an update – I'm going to fill in the slottabase, and add a FlexSteel base bottom from LITKO so he'll be safer in storage and transit.
I haven't added the base bottom yet, as I like to write an identification on it before attaching it to the figure. And I didn't know what this figure was or where it came from…
Fortunately, I've just identified the figure as an Eldar Striking Scorpion for Warhammer 40,000.
Games Workshop has since replaced the figure with something more ornate, but I like the older sculpt.
This figure traveled around the world in 2006's Around the World in 80 Days project as one of the figures donated by Pete Murray, and someone painted it and sent it on to me! (Real Life got in the way, and the end of the project was not well documented – that was before I had staff editors!) If you painted this figure, give us a shout out. 
I've forgotten if this is the original base treatment or not.
Over the years, the figure had accumulated some stray fibers that would not simply brush or blow off; I had to wash the figure, and still had to manually pluck off a few stubborn micro-whisps.
Now that I have one painted and cleaned up Eldar, obviously I need to collect more… what do you think, should I go retro or get new sculpts?