I think the "clay effect" comes from insufficient maps. It needs spec maps at least that are less uniform, more metallic to do it justice. Also, it comes from a bumpmap that is too defined (as this looks to be) and there isn't a lot that can be done about that other than turning it down and losing that pseudo-detail that it tries to achieve. Though those escape pods really should be modeled in to look good. In fact, there is texture glitching all over the place. Not that you made the model or anything, but you might well get better responses with a better mesh.