Looking to buy or make a fighting octopus kite

September 25, 2012 12:20 PM

I'm looking to buy or make an octopus kite, in the stunt/fighting style, like my wife had as a kid in the late 1980s to early 1990s, but haven't had any luck finding such a kite online.

This type (Opie) is common online, but lacks the stunt or fighting features. It had the octopus look (rounded top, streamers on the bottom, octopus face), and was somehow menacing. She can't specifically describe it as I think it's been so long that her memory of the details is hazy.

If there are no decent options to purchase, I could make such a kite with my wife, but I don't know how to best go about making such a kite. Could you point out a good template to make a fighting kite that I could make look like an angry octopus? Thanks!

posted by filthy light thief to sports, hobbies, & recreation (2 answers total)

All you need to do to any kite to make it a stunter or a fighter is change the bridal. A single line bridal can be adjusted to make the kite spin like a fighter. A two lone bridal can be used to steer the kite. Take a look at http://www.ehow.com/how_6356707_make-bridle-stunt-kite.html for an example of an easy two line bridal.
posted by Gungho at 12:47 PM on September 25, 2012

This is more like the octopus kite I remember seeing in the 1980s- I remember specifically the black one as menacing. Maybe this or this shows it better- the particular angle you see the kite from when it's flying makes it look like the kite glares at you. I also remember these as menacing because you can see them from so far away- these are big inflatable kites that probably aren't suited for stunting.

Here's a decent roundup of squid and octopus kite pictures. The red squid kite makes it look like you could just buy a traditional red kite and add eyes and extra streamers for a neat effect.

The only other thing I could find was this set of PDF instructions. You could probably make this from your own materials, then use gungho's instructions to set up the strings correctly.
posted by Secretariat at 3:46 PM on September 25, 2012