Spacecraft from the early days of private development of Earth's immediate neighborhood tended to be less "pretty" and more interested in "practical". Unfortunately that often meant they seemed to have been designed by accountants more concerned with saving expense, rather than such minor concerns as the comfort of the crew. It's often amazing that anybody actually lasted long enough to make the explosive leap outward later on even happen, considering how spare and often dreary the life must have been. Even more amazing is the number of these ships that continued to operate by stubborn and highly resourceful crews long after their planned operational lifespans. Humans can be a very independent breed, and those with the skills to keep these ships running seemed to love tinkering with them almost as much as they loved operating them. This ship was from a series of almost jury-rigged transports that moved supplies and materials between the different stations and the orbital depots for Earth and the Moon. This particular ship has had three different names, as it passed through half a dozen owners, but recently its original name was restored by a wealthy investor who liked the history of such a ramshackle old craft. Thus the "turpis pennae" is once again making infrequent trips between Lunar orbit and Earth's larger stations. -From the newsdesk of the Transorbital Vision, a short-lived attempt to revive old-style video news presentation. ------------------- Nostalgia is a fascinating thing to me, especially how often we transform things into something that scarcely even resembles what it originally was all in the name of nostalgia. This space ship was my first new ship in ages, and I can tell how rusty I've gotten at it. Given how ugly the thing was turning out the name just kind of fits: "Ugly Wing" Ship was modeled in Bryce, the background stars and nebula were done in Photoshop, as was compositing and a great deal of postworking. It's great to be doing Scifi again!