Doing a contest.  Since I've got so many projects running currently, I'm trying to bust this one out as quickly as possible to reach the March 17th deadline.  I can thereafter use this design scheme in my future projects, so it's all good.

My goal is to improve the quality of my "good guy" ships.  Good guy stuff usually is smoothly modelled, with gentle curves and transitions between geometric parts, as well as brighter, warmer lighting and color schemes.

Bad guy stuff, on the other hand, tends to be more brutal, mechanical and harshly lit, with more angular, harsher geometric shapes.

There are always exceptions, however, to both rules, and you can mix and match and make angular, mechanical geometry look like a good guy ship with brighter, warmer lighting, for instance.  It's all about what story you're trying to tell with the model.  But in this case, I'm pulling out all the stops and pouring all the good guy conventions into this particular piece to really leave no question.

About three hours' work, right now.  Still have a long way to go, unfortunately.