Interesting information - thanks!
You’re right - the Panzers look better (especially the IV). I had thought that the Tiger II was a better looking tank that this. It appears that they went for “ease of manufacture” and a big gun. Perhaps a result of the reduced production capability the Germans experienced at the hands of US and British bombing attacks as the war progressed. (I’m certain that the RAF took great pleasure in bombing the snot out of German facilities after having been on the receiving end of German bombing attacks in 1940).
I followed a cool link to a Russian web site that tested the Tiger’s resistance to various types of anti-tank weapons and artillery. Kind of interesting...
http://www.battlefield.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=282&Itemid=123&lang=en
Cheers!