Screenshots of what you're doing.

... photoshop ...

Obviously, the barrel mockup could be a bit more refined. It was mostly intended to illustrate my point about the color contrast.
In the original, the back is bright with dark highlights, while the front is the opposite, which makes it look like three separate parts, instead of a single whole. At least that's my first impression.

I agree that the model should not be too big (hence the shortening), but increasing the angle doesn't necessarily have to make it wider.
I simply see some lost potential because the glowing "bolts" are right in front of the glowing pipes in 1st person.