If you are planning to start a dark eldar army then you need consider how you want to put your army together. A 1500 pt skimmer based army will probably have at least 6 or more Raiders or Ravagers. This translates to a substantial investment (US$200+) in transports alone for the beginner.
An alternative approach would be a ground-based force that is more a horde style army. The disadvantage to this style of army is that you sacrifice some of the dark eldar's mobility in exchange for greater numbers of troops. You also sacrifice some firepower because you lose the mobile dark lances and disintegrators that come with the raider transports. On the positive side a ground-based army should be much cheaper to construct. The plastic sprues for the basic warriors are readily available on E-bay for very reasonable cost. These warrior sprues with some conversion can be used to create 3 different units: warriors, mandrakes, and grotesques. These units can form the nucleus of a ground-based army. Below are samples of mandrakes and grotesques made from warrior sprues. More information can be found on the Conversions page for these models.
The only substantial expenditures for the Haemonculi army would be for the HQ models and the 2 talos models. Fortunately, the HQ models could be converted from plastic warrior sprues. The talos models could be scratch-built or converted from other models.
A prototype 1500 point army might consist of the following:
Two or more haemonculi as a HQ to lead the grotesque squads
Two squads of grotesques to act a screen to protect the army from incoming enemy fire
One squad of mandrakes
Five squads of warriors. Two equipped with dark lances, 3 equipped with splinter cannons, blasters and Sybarite leaders
2 talos for close combat.
Example roster