[TML] Huh?

[Richard Aiken]

Sorry, guys.  Those were some good defenses.  But it's really quite
hard to tell *what* they meant to do.

The "cover" depiction on the free sample page appears to be
more-or-less a copy of the classic layout.  True, the starboard edge
of the rendering has a doubled-up surface which *could* be taken as a
thicker edge.  But then again this doesn't slope like it should
(triangularly, from the bow backward).  Also - unless the perspective
is *way* off  - the POV seems to be almost directly above, so there
shouldn't be much (if any) thicker edge to see in any case.

But that's really neither here nor there.  Because the depiction
doesn't match the deckplans in the slightest.  The depiction uses the
classic wedge shape, but adds a central bulged-up bridge that strongly
resembles a WWII fighter cockpit.  Meanwhile, the deckplans chop a
goodly bit off the back end of each hull tip, sqaure off the ends of
the tips by what must be several yards in and finally both square off
and bulge-outward the bow.  Frankly, the overall result more resembles
a Star Wars A-Wing fighter than it does the CT Type S.  Perhaps the
deckplan artist also illustrated for one of the Star Wars RPGs?  :-)

Now, if the deckplans do reflect the shape of the ship - that is, if
the "real" ship actually is built like a huge A-Wing - then the
airlock sorta makes sense.  It's still got a really low ceiling,
though, unless they completely abandoned sloping the hull.  Anyway, I
hope they caught this mis-match before it went into the real book.
Because it sure seems like they used two different artists, who didn't
talk to each other.

-- 
Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident." Robert A. Heinlein