Here's what I've been up to. Most of the layers on the left half of the ship are turned off.
I know the shading on the raised, lighter plates is inconsistent; I was experimenting a bit. At the moment I like the bottom one the most. I'm also planning on resizing the sprite down before doing the rest of the detailing. Next time I'll start at the size I want to finish at >.<
The ship needs texture, with edges of armour, ridges, etc. You have added shapes to the armour, but it still feels like shapes, not raised structures or greebling.
Consider the Collossus:
It's essentially a giant square, but it's covered in textural detail. Square armour plates, paint lines, slight depressions, sloped regions between the raised centre and the back-part, all of it make it feel more real and sculptural. You can get this effect by experimenting with a digital paintbrush; just plop in darker and lighter colours and play around with it. It's almost EXACTLY how clouds appear in The Joys of Painting; you just start dabbing paint, using the eyedropper to pick up colour, and re-dab around and you can make the most amazing things, right there on the canvas.
In other news; the Berserker (P) is getting converted into a cargo carrier. My question is: Which layout is less cancerous?