Review by Andy Martin for X-Ray Box by Mikame Craft
5 out of 5
Very Clever Box
This is the second time around for me on this clever box from Mikame Craft. Unlike alot of their high quality "remakes", this appears to be unique to them. The construction of the box is solid and the whole thing can be examined.
But at any time without adding or taking anything away you can secretly access the contents of the box for divinations or substitutions.
The mechanism is cleverly built into the box with no electronics or other crazy gimmicks. It just works very well and the view you get of the inside allows you to see anything placed inside the box.
Review by Andy Martin for Stealth Assassin Wallet v1.0 by Peter Nardi, Marc Spelmann
5 out of 5
Just One More Wallet, please!
Ok, so as you have probably figured out by now I love leather wallets! For my money Jerry O’Connell easily makes the best quality magic wallets. However, there is still room for well made wallets with some neat features.
The Stealth Assassin is one of those wallets. It is very well made in the England – not quite as good as Jerry’s work, but still very fine, and it has a heck of a lot built into the one wallet. Most wallets you can set-up for one trick, and it does it well, but then you are done. With the Assassin you can set it up for 3 or 4 effects with little trouble and each one uses a different feature of the wallet.
You can use it as Peek Wallet, a Mutiple out prediction Wallet, an Out to Lunch Wallet, and even a card to wallet with variations on these themes. I could easily see you building a whole act around the wallet, and in such a way that the wallet does not seem like a prop. It is just a wallet for holding predictions and cards for the effects.
The wallet looks very normal and easily fits in your shirt pocket – Peter says you can use it as your real wallet, and I have no issues with that – you really could. The two DVD’s that come with it have Peter Nardi + Marc Spelmann in fine form, and they made me feel a bit homesick for sunny old London. They detail many routines, tips, and ideas in over two hours of video.
This is a wonderful package with which you can build some very sweet magic and it all fits into a neat little space.
Review by Andy Martin for Chinese Color Change Coin by Joker Magic
4 out of 5
Quality Coins and easy changes!
These are a heavy set of coins that make it pretty easy to change colors from a Black Chinese Coin, to a Red and to a Blue that can be handed out for examination if so desired. I just like to spin the coin in the air at the end showing the hands as clean as a whistle.
The moves are easy and there is not much to learn. The coin is heavy and better than many I have seen. The only issue I found is that you have to be a bit careful when you show the black coin, as if you are not you might expose a slight blue coin. It is probably not a real issue, but it is something I noticed whilst practing in the mirror.
Review by Andy Martin for Combo Mini Baseballs by Simply Magic
5 out of 5
Nice Balls!
Wow, I really like these Mini Baseballs from Michael Sullivan at Simply Magic. They are a great weight and the stitching is really neatly done. To me they look like real Mini Baseballs.
I also found that the chop ball to be perfectly weighted and it was just right for my chop Cup, not too strong and not too weak.
Overall, a real pleasure to use and I found Michael to be fast and friendly with his emails and shipping from Austrialia took about 7 days.
If you are looking for something a bit more entertaining than the normal balls for cups and balls these are perfect, and of course easily lead into baseball themed final loads.
Review by Andy Martin for Wizard PK Ring (Gold) by Jim Trainer, World Magic Shop
5 out of 5
The Perfect PK Ring
So I’ve really liked the Elohim Ring for years now, but when this new Wizard PK ring came a long it was a no brainer. It looks very innocent, comes in 3 sizes to fit almost anyone and works very well with a lot of magnetic power. It kinds of reminds me of an ant, because you can pick up a lot bigger than the ring itself.
If you ever need any sort of magnetism in your fingers, this is the way to go. It’s funny to note that in the last 13 years of marriage I have hardly ever taken off my wedding ring, but since I bought this ring I have been whipping it on and off all the time!
The only comment I would make is that if you wear this ring full time I am pretty sure you will sooner or later destroy a credit card or two since I am you will rub the ring against the black strip.
Review by Andy Martin for Chop Cup by Johnson Products
5 out of 5
So beautiful you should buy 3!
My advice to people buying the Johnson Chop Cup is buy 3 instead and don’t even bother getting the normal cups! I can’t tell the difference between the cups and having 3 chops is always better than 1!
I know the Johnson cups are a well respected in the industry as a fine set of medium priced cups. For the price I find it hard to see how they can be beat. They are a great weight, look great, and handle smoothly.
Review by Andy Martin for Dr. Rhine Improved by David Hoy
3 out of 5
Nice Props, Ok Prediction, and Not Cheap!
This is a nice, but expensive, prediction effect. It works exactly as described, but I was expecting a different method from the more standard Perfect Match. Unfortunately it works the same way and since there are only 3 cards the prediction is not so mind blowing.
The quality of the props is really good but for the price I would expect more.
Review by Andy Martin for Royal Road To Card Magic DVD by R. Paul Wilson
5 out of 5
Superb!
The best things about these DVD’s by R. Paul Wilson is the fact that after watching them you want to take down the Royal Road To Card Magic book from your shelf and read it from beginning to end. Not skipping pages, and not moving on until you have mastered each section.
If you do, you’ll find out how much you can do just with the much abused overhand shuffle, and that is just the first 10 minutes of the DVD’s.
The DVD’s are very well produced and are designed to work in tandem with the book. It is a superb job. The only downside is that if you bother to study and practice and perform from the book and DVD’s you’ll find that you can get through life with just one deck of cards and you won’t need anything else ever.
I know it won’t happen, but just imagine turning up anywhere and being able to blow people away with just a single deck of cards – surely that is what dreams are made of?
Review by Andy Martin for Volcano Wallet by Jim Pace
5 out of 5
Roar Goes the Volcano!
Now this is a fire wallet! It looks like a normal wallet, but the second you want it to be without any fumbling you have a rush of fire. The mechanism works first time every time, and does so without ripping your thumb up like so many fire wallets.
The downside with the wallet, if you want to call it that, is that it does require Flash paper to operate. But this just adds to the whole volcano effect, so I did not see it a problem.
I also like this wallet because it is small and easily fits into your shirt pocket. And once you put out the Volcano, the wallet can be opened again just to look like a normal wallet.
Review by George Guerra for Gift of Time by Collectors' Workshop
5 out of 5
The Undisputed King of Prediction Clocks
When George Robinson e-mailed me that he had one Gift of Time ready for sale, I hesitated to answer for a brief moment. Yes, I had asked to be notified if the effect ever became available some long time ago after reading positive comments on this piece, especially from John Mendoza, but I had just recently spent over $2000 for Nick Ruggiero’s Perfect Card. I just couldn’t see myself spending over $2000 again, but I gave in and ordered it. What a beautiful piece of magic!!
George handmade the cabinet for this BIG mantle clock out of SOLID Walnut in his own workshop…NO off the shelf clock here, folks, and the quality shows. He has updated the workings with "21st Century" technology that makes the first original Gift of Time from the old CW look like a joke, though to Nick’s credit, he promptly improved the design. The prediction setting is quicker than the eye can follow. The clock has a "Normal" mode, functioning as a normal clock keeping accurate time and George has also incorporated an on-off "Tic-Toc Sound" for old fashion realism. When the clock is in "Prediction" mode, normal time is being maintained and updated. The new version also has on-off "Half-Speed", "Double-Speed", and "Run Backwards" capabilities, though I haven’t discovered the advantages of these new features, yet.
The clock weighs in over 11 lbs, measures 13 1/2 (w) by 12 1/2" (h) by 6 1/2" (d). It looks like a $1000 mantle clock. It has an extensive self-testing and reporting capabilty so the performer is assured of a proper performance every time. For those in the know, the old models used that something that was extremely bulky and, in my opinion, impractical, but George has miniaturized it to 2 3/4" by 1 1/2" by 3/8". All comes well stored in an ATA case measuring 16 1/2" by 18 1/2" by 9 1/2". George and the craftsmen at Viking/CW have outdid themself with this legendary apparatus from Collectors’ Workshop and delivered the best version to date. It’s accurate, fast, easy to perform, and a miracle maker. It’s too bad, Andy limits the best rating to only 5 stars because there is no large enough star number to rate this beauty.
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