I am a huge fan of this ship for so many reasons already mentioned by Richard in his original post. It really is a brilliant design, and I think it's the simplicity that makes it brilliant. Typically I shut Richard down on his pipe dreams (#ThanksMuse) after complimenting his incredible efforts and talents, but I'm going to humor him right now and engage in flights of fancy because I love the potential lore behind the ship design so much.
The front gun "forks" have a Millennium Falcon vibe to them. I imagine them lifting and transporting cargo. I assume that design choice is quite on purpose, but if not, perhaps the model could be tweaked to explicitly resemble cargo lifting forks. I do think the claws were a bit too much and I'm glad they've been removed. And I think Brig is a better name than Raven, which I'll get to in a bit...
The heavy gun mounted on the rear of the ship also gives me a "cargo hold" feel. I'd magnify that design aspect as well, somehow. Perhaps put the heavy gun on some sort of (obviously static) pneumatic lift that would (theoretically) lower to the ground while docked during civilian transport duties?
Is the balloon elevated so you'd have to look up at it to repair from below without jumping? I like that idea because it trains scrubs to think of repairs in three dimensions instead of only two. Could naturally enlighten novices to repair the hull and balloon of, say, Junkers, from below.
Finally, the name. Brig? I like it, but with reservations. Kind of short. Kind of similar, phonetically, to the Squid, which I don't like. Apparently "Brigadore" was a mythological horse. Perhaps go with that instead, since you know it'll be nicknamed the Brig anyway
And, after all, this ship is gonna be a workhorse for pilots like me engaged in my never-ending penance training scrubs. I can only assume the simple name "Brig" is a reference to the n00b prison it will become for the pilot, already trapped in a cage.
More metaphors, please.
This all being said, I agree that the balloon is too small for all the heavy lifting and dragging I imagine this ship doing, lore-wise. A large balloon as a target would also help to balance it. I see it having pretty similar stats to a Goldfish as a basis for development. Bread-n-butter. I look forward to checking this thread in the future to see the minor tweaks!
