its meant to be sub-par for a reason. it plays into the story of the mod.
heres one fo the lines: beta 3: wow...nice ships (sarcastic)
By 'sub-par' they mean crap, not 'sub-par' in-game.
Here's a comparison for you:

The GTF Hercules. Arguably the best fighter in FreeSpace 1. However:

Anubis class fighter. Is it weak? Yes. Does it look weak? Yes. Does it still look cool and professional? Yes.

Your fighter. Is it weak? Supposedly. Does it look weak? Supposedly. Does it look professional? No. It looks like what I was experimenting with in TS 3.2 in 30 seconds.
My point is, a weak ship does not look crap. A weak ship is not a block (by a block I don't mean Ursa, I mean an actual cube). Karajorma's GTC Big Fat Brick is not a pirate cruiser.
This is supposed to be constructive criticism, not a flame. If it looks like it, I'm sorry.
And on a side note, Turey, your cargo container isn't too hot either. (don't play with your balls and make it into a fighter)
