Between Planets Shuttle 09

This view shows the tail of the shuttle. The SeaMaster had a long slender tail and tall vertical stabilizer. Those were cut off to shorten the fuselage to the proportions seen on the book cover. A step was left below the rocket nozzle since that's also how it is illustrated on the cover. It also makes sense as a protection to keep water out of the nozzle on landing. The large tail fins are from the MIG kit.