Going to start my tank study now... this is going to be a bit of a test post to get a decent format so please bear with me.
THE M4 EASY 8
BELOW:
I wanted to highlight some visible differences between the top tier gun and the stock gun so that you can adjust your position accordingly as you look at it visually. This is "Top tier" and "Stock" only- if there are any in between I'm not sure. In addition to the configuration of the top tier gun being shorter, notice there is a slightly different copula configuration between the different upgraded turret armor packages.
The armor thickness images below that are based on an "upgraded" top tier package.
TOP CONFIG: LEFT
STOCK CONFIG: RIGHT


microcarnage, on 14 August 2014 - 10:42 AM, said:
I've been running this tank for a bit. As mentioned its front armor is pretty decent. I find the weekness of the tank is the tracks. I find facing you enemy straight on works but a slight angle (not too much) allows a few more bounces. You are easily tracked from anywhere and if your opponent knows it they do it. The speed is one of the best that I've seen. Easily running the circle of death around almost any heavy. Top tier gun is decent for anything close to tier 6 but when against higher tiers it can't penetrate their front armor and you have to rely on tracking and/or circling. Great flanking tank with its speed. I did the grind to the T20 and currently grinding the E8 toward the Jackson TD. overall a fun ride with the odd airtime thrown in.
http://www.worldofta...nk_analyzer.cgi offers a really great guide on the many pros and cons of this platform. It also has a few different graphics that offer up some potential weak spots. I'm not 100% if all the detailed weaknesses shown on that page are accurate for Blitz, or if the impact / collision zones are dumbed down a bit.
http://gamemodels3d....nks/vehicles/a5 gives an excellent run down of performance at each upgrade level. As we get into later tiers, this page may not be available to non-members. Like I've mentioned before I think the membership cost was 5 bucks- and as we get more and more familiar with the different platforms you can evaluate the value of this data for your personal use.
Wot Guru didn't have any specific write-ups on the Easy 8... but they do have a bunch of others that I will link to when the time comes.
I don't have any specific experience with this platform so I can't speak specifically to its performance. I will quote comments in future posts and put them all in this post. I may employ "spoiler" boxes to keep the post from getting TOO big. Looking forward to your input!