BHG ships:
I have always liked the original BHG ships. Even though they might be considered ugly, they are actually very nicely modeled and textured.
Liberty Ships:
Possibly some of my favorite ships. The patriot model is right up there among the best, in my opinion. The Defender model has some excellent texture and the wings and turret blob mount on the top really work well. Even the Rhino has some nice qualities.
Rheinland ships:
Yes, iI would have to agree that the lbanshee model is kinda lacking, but I really appreciated the valkyrie. The humpback was done rather well, but could've been made better.
Kusari:
I feel that the fighters are a bit too frilly and the Drone was just thrown in there to give each house a freighter. They have excellent textures though.
Bretonian:
The fighter/anything larger contrast I feel is too staggering. You have the cavalier which in my opinion ooks kinda like a flying kidney and the Crusader that looks like a shrimp, and the brickish everything else. They do have their charm though.
Border Worlds Ships:
Very nicely done indeed.
Corsair ships:
I feel they all look too similar. And the titan is one of those chewing gum and paper clip contraptions falling apart under the slightest stress. The models are blocky too. Tough ship to kill though.
Civilian Ships: I feel that the texturing on these was done nicely. I never really appreciated the beauty of these ships untill I flew the eagle. Far away, they look pretty drab, but even the humble starflier is very nice.
I actually love the Bretonian ships, everything from the light fighter up through the battleship. They're just cool looking. Kusari ships are nice, though I'm not fond of the battleship. Liberty are nice, though pretty average IMHO. Not a big fan of the Rhineland ships (though I fly a Behemoth...).
Rogue Gunboat, as much as I loooove it (it's so maneuverable it can almost dogfight a VHF), it's ugly as sin. And most GB turrets look really silly on it.
The Bloodhound/Werewolf series of ships are pretty bad too. And the BHG capships are pretty awful.
X-Shuttle (Did this illegally immigraate into the mod or what?)
Homeworld ships (Textures kinda suck)
Battlestars (Too big, looks nothing like FL ships)
Outcast/Liberty Destroyer (Just more ships that dont belong)
Zoner Juggernaught (Is this the star destroyer? If so, wtf)
Talon (It's a jet, in space. W.T.F.)
Drone
Well said Jamez, although I love the Outcast Destroyer. All the other homeworld, BSG, Starwars.... all got hit with the ugly stick. Bad. And Bretonian ships if you think about them are really artistic. I mean someone had to think of the curvature to make it look like something that would fit. And most of the vanilla ships look good.
I mean, the Liberty ships look advanced and prepared for everything, the Kusari look mean and are small. Fitting with the martial arts, and feudalistic culture that they were grown from. The Rheinland are bare necessities and look worn and cold hearted. And the Bretonian have an artsy flare about them. Suggesting some over designing. The Corsairs look spanish in nature. But strong and weathered made for the systems from which they hail. The border worlds ships are rugged and shaped for a high radiation area. And look like they are engineered for nothing more than what they are used.
The bounty hunter ships look like are designed to hunt down people, and knock them out. I mean with those big panels and wide firing arc it is made for lesser shots to be able to bring down a hard target. And with their heavy armor it is indicative of survivalist mindsets.
Lastly the civilian ships look flashy and are small and fast. With wide firing arcs, all designed to make them look appealing to a customer.
I think the designers did an excellent job with these ships.