It takes a lot of little people to make a big crowd.
So I look for the least expensive HO or 1/72nd scale or in that range, sets of figures I can find.
Then I prepare about 100 at a time. Cut off the sprue, trim the flash and glue them to a base.
I use Evergreen Plastic sheet styrene in the "Tile" configuration to make uniform rectangles for the bases. Since it has the tile design of little squares, I just break the plastic along the tile grout lines and create a base. I usually file the edges down a bit and sometimes I file down the corners. The bulk of my bases get painted the same red brown color.
I do change up the base size, shape and color so that there is more variety, as civilians they should look different from each other. Also I paint a few with distinctive bases so I can use them as employees of a casino, hotel, or spies, or other special purposes that may not be readily apparent. Batch paint the figures starting with the skin, then hair, then inner clothing and finally jackets, belts, shoes and other items. Use almost any color for clothing but most should be blue, brown, gray, black and white. By painting 100 at a time I mix up the paint colors with each group so that there is more variation.
