Raytheon Peregrine Build

[Bruiser]

Toward the end of my "Which Missile to Kick Off 2021 With?" thread it seemed like the Peregrine was going to be the winner. I had started to build it before the poll closed and have continued to work on it here and there while also building the Lockheed Cuda Missile. I thought it is probably time to play catch up a little bit. Warning though, it's very similar to the Cuda build...

I started with the engine mount. I made my centering rings from 1/8th ply and glued them on the tube with epoxy. You can also see where I have built up the aft side of the end centering ring so the boat tail will have a lip to glue to.


Next step is to build up part of the tube so the forward centering ring can be pushed into the aft body tube to the correct depth. I do this with several wraps of tape. Then the centering ring is slide over the front of the motor tube. I apply epoxy to the inside of the body tube then slide the motor tube assy into the body tube to the correct depth and I stand the tube up on the end. The centering ring will push the epoxy (like a bulldozer pushes dirt) and the epoxy will form a nice fillet with the tube standing on end.


After the epoxy dries I pull the motor tube out and I apply a fillet of glue around the backside of the forward centering ring with a scrap piece of dowel. The next step is a little complicated because now you have to apply epoxy to three areas. So here we go...

First apply epoxy to the front end of the motor tube. Next apply epoxy to the inside of the body tube about one inch inside. Now you slide the motor tube assy part way in as pictured. When you get it in this far you apply more epoxy to the very aft of the body tube, all the way around. Just move the motor tube assy to make room. Then you finish inserting the motor tube assy until the aft centering ring (the plywood portion) is flush with the end of the body tube. Make sure to turn the tube if you need to so the slots in the centering rings align with the slots in the body tube.


Next is to install the boat tail and it is made from two wraps of poster board. I used payloadbay.com for the templates. I installed one wrap and while it was still drying I put a coat of Elmer's glue on the second wrap, laid it over the first wrap and held it in place with tape. It was quite tricky and there has to be a better way. After it dried I applied CWF and sanded over and over until I was happy with the contours.


Next I made a shelf in the forward end of the coupler. It's just a few pieces of 1/8th ply glued together and epoxied inside the coupler. I coated the entire inside of the coupler with thinned epoxy. I also installed a eye bolt in the center of the shelf to attach the Kevlar to. I put a few drops of JB Weld on the threads (not pictures) to help keep it together


Since this coupler goes into the body tube a few inches I was afraid to use wood glue because of the way it can grab and lock. I used a little epoxy that I carefully smeared around with a gloved finger and bam, the aft assy is done


-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

So, has anybody been wondering about this build? I took some time off from it to work on the Cuda and it's finished now. THat means it's time to get back to work on this one.

I started on the fins using the same method I used on the Cuda fins. You'll be seeing a lot of similarities in the two builds. I started with 1/8 ply and cut out the fin pattern. Then I laminated on 1/16th bass to each side with some Titebond. Now I need to start profiling the diamond shape of the fins and you can see the reference line. the arrows point to the direction I'll be sanding, taking more off the edges.



When those two angles are sanded it looks like this



Next I need to sand the fin to get the third angle on these fins so Ill be sanding in the direction of the arrows taking more off the tip. It's kinda hard to describe so let me take another pic



The tip needs to have a double taper just like the root. Right now it's a single taper but sanding in that direction will remove the material to the pencilled in lines. I want to do them by hand because it's a small area and I need to be careful


-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

I have the fin tips sanded now. They were fairly easy to do because of the size. I had planned to put on the first coat of laminating resin today but I can't seem to find my bottles...



Also the body tube is done. Since it's been awhile since documenting how I did it in the Cuda here's a brief recap. First I used cwf on the spirals, the boat tail seam and the seam in the body tubes. They weren't bad but why chance it? Next I slid a leg from a pair of Silken Mist nylons over the body tube and brushed on two coats of Minwax Water Based Poly. Once they dried, I applied the first coat Z-Poxy finishing resin, scrapping off the excess with a playing card. After it dries I sanded off the high spots and fuzzies then applied a second coat again scrapping off the excess. The second coat did not use nearly as much resin as the first coat. After all was dry I did another sanding and that is how it is pictured now. Filler primer will be the next step once the fins are on.



Some folks had asked about the weight of the process. I forgot to weigh the Cuda but I remembered this time. Here is what I found:

7.77 ounces bare tube
8.98 ounces finished

So there is a little bit of a weight penalty but I am pretty happy with the process. I like the finish I achieved with Cuda and it does add a little strength. I'm not sure how much but I can tell you the tube is much stiffer than when it was plain cardboard. I think I will do future mid power builds this way.

Now I got to go try to find the finishing resin so I can get going on these fins

-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

I did find the finishing resin and applied a nice coat. After a little sanding I applied some electrical tape at the high points of the facets. Next I sprayed some primer in a cup, added some micro balloons and brushed it on



Then I wet sanded until the edge of the tape was visible and I removed the tape. That created a ridge and I made just a few more sanding passes to remove the sharp peaks. Once I've sprayed a few coats of primer and color, the ridges will smooth over but they should still "accent" the peak there.



I think it's time to attach them to the body tube next.

-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

Now that the fins are ready I need to prep the body tube. First thing was to open up the fin slots. They were only partially cut out prior to the quasi-glassing.



I used an X-acto knife to cut out the nylon and cardboard tube. You can just barely see the centering ring that is notched so the fin will index properly.



I epoxied the four fins and I can tell you they are plenty strong. The first fin got canted just a bit but I didn't realize it until I went to glue on the second fin which was directly across from it. It had been about ten minutes from gluing it and it was already locked in place.



I also decided to leave the trailing edge of the fin dangling in the air. On the actual missile the entire rear fin pivots. I thought this would better replicate the original than the way I did the rear fins on the Cuda build. I don't think there will be problems from anything such as flutter since it's the trailing edge.



Next I'll apply some fillets to the front half of the fins and glue on the simulated spin motors.

-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

The epoxy fillets on the front half of the fins have been done. I have also glued on the spin motors and applied a little filler to them.



Then I started on the front stakes. The main strake is 1/4" x 1" tapered balsa. I attached them with CA glue then applied a nice fillet of Quick and Thick. In this photo you can also see a channel/groove in the balsa. That is for the next step.



I made some cross grain basswood and cut 3/8th strips to make the gusset with. I sanded the one edge of the gusset at a 45 degree angle and that side is against the body tube. The other side fits into the channel/groove in the balsa strake. Looks like this:



Next step was to add some CWY to the gusset and the seams



That's all for today. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to the papering part of the strakes after I sand the CWF off.

-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

I sanded the CWF and then had a decision to make. I didn't know if I should paper just the balsa strakes or if I should include the gussets as well. I decided to do both. Because of the length there were some seams that I filled with CWF.



After the seams were filled to my satisfaction I went ahead and sprayed the first coat of primer.



It's always an eye opener for small areas that need to be addressed but I found more than small areas this time. I think I forgot to put a second coat of laminating resin on this tube. Maybe I didn't put a first on... I did this tube the same time I did the body tube for the Cuda and I believed I had taken them both thru all the steps. That is until I saw this:



You can see the weave of the nylon in places where it wasn't quite filled in. It's okay though because the filler primer will take care of those problems (I think/I hope). I went ahead and wet sanded a great deal of the primer off and I just sprayed the 2nd coat. Hopefully this coat will come out better. I also wasn't happy with the seam ridges I created on the fins back in post four. Some seams were perfect, some could barely be seen and some were rough on the edges. I sanded them off and primered over them again. I'll do something different with them later on

-Bob

 

[neil_w]

Gussets came out great, nice job.

 

[Bruiser]

Thank you Neil. I just noticed you changed your avatar to go with your next build. That is cool!

The second coat of primer went on well and used up the can of primer. I am going to have to swing by some store and pick up another can because I think I might need a little more. The coverage seemed good and the weave seemed filled in but I'll know for sure when I look at it Monday.

-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

I haven't been feeling too well but I have been dabbling around with the nose cone a bit. The construction is much like the nose cone off the Cuda.

First the shoulder and bottom was cut off and a ring installed. I used a part of the cut off pieces to complete the shoulder. The piece is held in by CA glue with micro balloons added. I tried different glues and wasn't very happy with any until I remembered Adam Savage's video on CA glues. The Micro balloons made all the difference. The ring is centered in the holes that I drilled around the perimeter of the shoulder and epoxied in place.



Next was to add two ounces of weight just in case I decide to use a BIG motor. I drilled two holes (technically four) and inserted toothpicks in one side and out the other. Then I sacrificed two shotgun shells and used the shot mixed with epoxy. I poured it thru a paper funnel into the tip of the nose cone. I further packed it in place with a dowel and set it aside to dry



Next I cut off the toothpicks and sanded them flat. I applied a little Bondo spot putty to the area and sanded a little to smooth the area out.



Next was some Rustoleum Filler Primer which showed a nice little groove on each side where the seam use to be. I applied spot filler to those areas.



After a little bit I was able to sand the spot putty. Wet sanding seems to work best (for me) with this stuff. It tends to clog the paper if sanded dry. I also wet sanded the rest of the nose cone and it is ready for another coat of primer now.



Isn't it funny how it looks so smooth until you get paint on it? Anyway, I'll spray another coat of primer after we close the shop today. I might come by this weekend to see how it came out and maybe spray some color on it. Can't do it tomorrow as I'll be having a procedure out of town. Love those Crohn's commercial where they say take our meds and kick Crohn's in the ass. If only it was so...

-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

Let's see, where did I leave off?

Hmmn, I had filled and sanded the little grooves that showed after primering the nosecone. Ok, after that I sprayed on primer and I could still see the groove so over the next few hours I sprayed several coats of filler primer over them in an attempt to fill the groove. After about the third coat I noticed something weird had happened. Somehow (what I can best describe as) a crevice appeared in the groove area. I decide to let it sit overnight and check it in the morning.

Sure enough it was still there in the morning so I decided to forgo the spot putty and sprayed some primer in a cup. Then I added some micro balloons to the primer and brushed it on the area. Later in the day I wet sanded it smooth with some 220 and sprayed one last coat of primer on and let it sit overnight again. In the morning I sprayed the white after a light wet sanding and the nose cone is now done. I may clear coat when I clear coat the rest of the missile



I have been trying different processes to simulate the screw detail in this rocket. What I have decided to go with is to "burn" a simulated countersink (with a tool I made) in the structure for each screw before I paint. After I paint I will insert a simulated screw head into the counter sink. The screw heads are vinyl that I have cut on my Cricut machine. Here is what the "burn" detail looks like:



Last but not least, a gratuitous shot of how it's coming along. Helps with the motivation


-Bob

 

[Sooner Boomer]

Very nice build!

 

[Bruiser]

Thank you checking out my build

Yesterday I sprayed some gray paint. I was planning ahead for doing the panel seams so I was thinking I needed to paint the base coat, apply chart tape, recoat, pull the tape and walla, panel seams. So I sprayed the main body and the strakes gray. I did not spray the rear fins because they are going to be a different color

I stayed after work today so I apply the chart tape and respray. I applied it to the body and the strakes. I masked the rear fins again and I sprayed another of gray. Then I removed the masking off the fins and pulled the chart pack tape off. The lines came out nice and I while looking it over I had one of those moments... I realized that I had painted the strakes gray but not the rear fins. Why? The rear fins are going to be silver so I was thinking the base coat needed to be silver but that is not so. The strakes are going to be silver too and when I spray them metallic sliver they will be done. For the rear fins I still need to mask them off, spray the silver base, apply the tape and then spray the final coat. If I had sprayed it all gray, applied the tape, sprayed gray again all I'd have left to do would be to tape off the the strakes and fins then spray silver

I'll try to show the process on the rear fins

Pics to come,
-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

Some days are golden and some days aren't.


Looks like I have some sanding to do and then a retry. This is Duplicolor Perfect Match over Rustoleum Filler Primer. I've used it before and did not have any problems. Peeled right off like the paint on my 2008 Chevy Express van

-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

I wet sanded the medium charcoal off with 220 grit and tried again. This time I decided to apply the tape and spray on filler primer



Next I wet sanded over the tape to help avoid the primer pulling up when I removed the tape. I stopped as soon as I could see the black on the tape



Next I sprayed the medium charcoal and I let it dry a bit before I pulled the tape. I pulled the tape right away on my first attempt but we know how that worked out. So when I pulle dthe tape I was very careful to pull the tape back over itself, at a slight angle, very slowly. Some paint still pulled off. THe areas were small so I sprayed some paint into a paper cone I made and brushed on a little touch up



It was looking a bit to shiny so I scuffed the paint a bit and here's where she is at now



Not real happy with my color choice or how this paint has been acting but it's on there now and it's staying. Hopefully the markings that still need to go on will help distract me from the darkness.

-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

The building has continued, or actually, I should say the detailing has continued. Little bits here and there.

I was out of pocket for 5 days to dog shows in Midland, TX so a bit of a delay. It was also the same weekend of the local launches so now I have a month to go to get it ready for the next launch. It was worth it though because Percy is now one major win from being a champion

Let's see, what has been done since last post... Hmmn, thin black lines were added along the bottom of the fin to simulate the air gap there. The Raytheon logo was sprayed on. I sprayed the yellow band on I just finished spraying the brown band on, but enough with the words. Here is the Peregrine next to the Cuda



Bob

 

[Bruiser]

I've just about wrapped this one up. I still need to clear coat, glue on the retainer, screw in the rail buttons and attach the recovery system but the paint/detailing is finished.

Just the Raytheon name on the front looked a little blah so I drew a line art falcon and added it. It gives the front a little more... something



I like the way the tail detail came out. For the screws on the rotary actuators I first burnt in a ring with brass tubing, then painted the grey. Next I colored in the screw head with a silver Sharpie. Then I cut some screwheads on my Cricut machine and added them. The other screws are basically the same but I have to make a special tool for burning in the chamfer detail.



-Bob

 

[neil_w]

Gorgeous!

 

[teepot]

Stunning. True works of art.

 

[Bruiser]

Oops, I thought this had posted before, but apparently it did not actually go

It wouldn't let me add the "strike a pose" pictures in that last post so here they are, right and left






Well I think that is going to do it for this build on TRF. If there's anything reportable about the clear coating I'll come back otherwise my next post will be a new project. Have to decide between a 3" Arapahoe, a 3" Goblin or a 3" two-stage rocket scale rocket with electronic staging and deployment (scary stuff).

Thanks to everyone that followed,
-Bob

 

[Bruiser]

The Peregrine did it's thing on Saturday. I estimate the altitude was near 1,000 feet with the Aerotech F67-6. Nice flight and recovery.



Sorry for the image quality but the only rail set up was being used for experimental motors so it was far, far away

-Bob