I've gotten 18 Crusader cavalry complete so far, plus I've prepped 30 infantry or so, and 9 more horsemen. I've learned a few things so far:
Manufacturers
1) HaT Industries is my favorite brand of plastic 1/72 scale miniatures right now. The casts are big, clear, easy to nip, easy to assemble.
2) Italieri are my second favorite, they're a little smaller, and harder to nip from their sprues.
3) Caesar are my least favorite, they involve a lot of assembly, and they are noticeably smaller than HaT figures, yet they have more detail, which actually makes for a worse final product.
4) Airfix has a lot of sentimental value to me since I owned a ton of them when I was a kid. The casts are simple and clear, but not as vivid as HaT or Italieri. They don't have a lot of appropriate sets for this project however, just the Robin Hood set for archers and pilgrims.
The Ins and Outs of Glue
Assembly: Lock-tite Brand special plastic glue is necessary and totally awesome for HaT and Italieri assembly purposes (Airfix too, but little assembly was necessary). Soft plastic can be a problem, but this glue solves it. Caesar uses a harder plastic, and plain superglue works fine. I suspect that model glue might work, but decided not to chance it.
Temporary Popsickle Stick Attachment
For gluing figures to wooden sticks for priming and painting, plain old super glue is best. It holds all the sorts of plastic well, and comes loose by just a gentle twist. For this reason, it's no good for permanently attaching plastic figures to wooden bases.
Permanent Base Mounting
To permanently attach plastic figures to a wooden base, the best thing is Elmer's Glue (or similar white glue). The down side is that you have to let it sit over night, but the upside is that it makes a super-strong bond that requires a screw-driver to chisel it loose (or a chisel I suppose), and you have a few minutes to adjust the position when doing the mount.
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