Tiger I heavy tank

My Tiger I crosses a bridge.
Brief history on the Tiger I
The term Tiger tank actually refers to three different types of Tigers - the Tiger I, the successor Tiger II as well as the Tiger manufactured by Porsche. When Germany invaded Soviet Union on the 22nd June 1941, Adolf Hitler assumed the Red Army did not have any tanks superior to its German rivals. This thought was based on Hitler's superior Panzers (tanks) performance on the battle on the West prior to Operation Barbarossa; German tanks smashed through Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg (Low Countries) and finally France up to the French Coast (until British retreat to Dunkirk). On the first half of the invasion of the USSR, German troops encountered the Soviet's formidable T34 tanks and the deadly KVI and KVII tanks, where many of the German Panzer III and IV tanks fell victims - at this point Hitler realized his previous statistic was wrong and that he needed something to counter the growing threat. Based on the experience of the tank crew, Hitler drafted two contracts to build a German heavy tank - one was given to Porsche, another to Henschel. The latter won the contract and started to mass produce the Tiger, which needed huge labor force. The first company of Tigers was deployed to Leningrad (today's St. Petersburg) as part of the Army's plan to cut off the city from Moscow in November - December 1942. The Tigers however suffered mechanical breakdown due to its weight but improved considerably over times. According to Alan Hamby, (a professional site that discusses primarily of the Tiger's paint scheme and pattern), most of the Tigers fielded to Leningrad were painted Panzergrau (grey). My model above is almost exactly the paint. Throughout times, camouflage patterns were applied according to the unit as well as the seasons.

The Tiger I after detail revision.
This particular Tiger I received a number of revision in terms of its details and measurement so as to meet the Tiger's real measurement. First of all, this is a second hand Tiger I bought from someone who is not interested with tanks or military history but only with RC. I studied that (thanks to a German friend) the Tiger manufactured by Heng Long (above) does not have a precise measurement of gun barrel. This has been overcame, as you can see the barrel has been slightly extended. The headlights had been replaced with my own designed 'minus' headlight to replicate BOSCH headlights as mounted on the real Tiger tanks. Wires connecting the headlights to its source have been replicated as well. Cupola has been re-positioned,  in addition I attached a cupola's holder. The antenna has been relocated from the near engine deck to the right side of the turret. The picture was taken before my order for the Tiger arrived such as the smoke launchers. Last but not least, I painted the whole tank to a Panzergrau (literally translated to grey in German). I know it looks bluish but that is what the color's name is. By the way, this Tiger is not the one crossing the bridge in the above photo.

A cousin's Tiger. Heavily weathered. The model is intended to be a generic Tiger participating on the North African campaign 1942.
Ok, this one has a sad history. It's a second hand acquisition as well. This Tiger looked horrible when my cousin first sent me the Tiger, so I and a friend looked over of what could be done.  Moreover, it lost many of its accessories. I did not think too much on the model because what I had in mind was to build this Tiger as the tank that participated in North Africa with turret 712. I simply painted it Olive Green (using Tamiya product) and applied heavy weathering. Missing parts have been replaced and scratch build. Now it looks much better and battle worn. I'll post more photos of this Tiger I in the future.