I love working with Tamiya and Dragon figures--they're so easy to "chop and change"....! I haven't tried cutting up and seriously modifying a Verlinden figure yet, though.

(By the way, if you get the Tamiya 1/16 "Machine Gun Loader" he comes with about 95% of the individual parts needed to assemble a complete Lafette MG Tripod: there's an interior brace you have to make, but it's still a heck of a "kit bonus"! )