I'm Corine and I come from the Netherlands. I've been reading along here for a while and felt the need to join talking.
I bought a couple of unpainted High Elves and heroes a year ago and that proved my downfall. I then tried painting some and discovered I could actually do so with my crappy painting skills. Soon, more and more figures made their way to me.
With a few exceptions, I mostly collect the Elves. This is not only the case for the GW line, but like for everything else Tolkien I've collected as well. I also have some of the warhammer fantasy high/wood/dark Elves lying around for a First Age project.
Needless to say I've been quite happy with the latest release of Mirkwood Elves. Needless to say my wallet has a different opinion on that
I mostly collect, paint (not that I'm good at it, not to mention I have a huge backlog) or work out scenario's of Elves that would display nicely with each other together. Playing the game? I have no clue how to do it