Review by Tom Pearson for Ancient Paddle Set No. 3 by Francois Danis
5 out of 5
Wonderful!
I love Francois’ Paddle Set. The one I have incorporates both the Egyptian and the Geisha designs. The craftsmanship is wonderful, and as I have said before, Francois’ passion and love of magic shows in the pieces I have from him.
Each paddle is crafted with beautiful artwork that enables you to tell a story with each paddle. The mahogany box to house the paddles is also beautifully crafted, and I love having it to display on my desk or shelf. The box also is of such high quality that it makes me strive to think of some magic to perform using just the box itself.
Francois is passionate about all of his magic, and I would recommend his magic to any collector or person who is also passionate about quality magic. I already have several pieces, and I will continue to acquire everything he makes.
Review by Tom Pearson for Chiang Mai Block by Magic Wagon
5 out of 5
Exquisite Craftsmanship
This item is gorgeous to look at and hold. The Magic Wagon folks have crafted this magic piece that is just exquisite in every way, from the precision fitting of all the pieces, the inlaid wood design, the interior of the box and the beautiful mirror finish. Everything fits together perfectly. The finish is like a fine piano.
I like the effect of the rope penetrating the block, and it is quite easy to set up and perform. It looks great in an office on a shelf or on display at home amidst other pieces in a collection.
The Chiang Mai Block and every detail about it has my highest rating. Magic Wagon has truly set a high standard for detail and beauty in their design of this unique piece of magic.
If you like beautiful magic, then get this item. It is truly a collector’s find.
Review by Tom Pearson for Cha Am Drawer Box by Magic Wagon
5 out of 5
Fabulous Craftsmanship
I have always loved drawer boxes and card boxes. This drawer box by Magic Wagon is beautifully crafted with inlaid wood and a design unlike a traditional magic drawer box. It is another rich example of the precision craftsmanship and attention to detail that the folks at Magic Wagon give to building magic that is beautiful to look at as well as perform. Quality always endures, and I love having this beauty in my collection. You would be well advised to purchase this for your collection, as I have not seen anything like it before, and it is an exquisite piece.
Review by Andy Martin for Dramatic Envelope by Masuda
4 out of 5
Very Clean, but harder than it looks!
If you watch the video for this it looks incredibly clean. There is one envelope sticking out of the wallet and the spectator can choose any of the 5 ESP symbols, and when the envelope is handed to the spectator it clearly has one card only in it, and it is their chosen card. It can be this clean for sure – the method is clever and the props are well built.
However, I have found to perform this as flawlessly as the video it requires hours of practice. For me the envelope sticks easily in the wallet and when it does come out you have to be sure that the gimmick does not show up. The reset is fairly easy but I have found that the whole gimmick needs to be reset each time, it is not just a matter of slipping one card back and you are all set to go. For this reason, I would not recommend it for walk around situations. It is best suited to the one off as shown in the video demo.
I really like Masuda’s magic, but this one I found to be not as practical or as easy as it looked. It could be me, but I spent a lot longer practicing this than normal and still found it difficult to make it flawless everytime.
Review by Andy Martin for No Chance by Peter Nardi, Marc Spelmann
5 out of 5
Great Gimmicked Dice, Great Routines
Peter Nardi and Marc Spelmann are two funny guys with some great magical ideas. This particular die I have used for years in an effect called Turning Stone by Jack Ruda. Max Maven used one in his recent Nothing DVD. One of the things that these boys have added is to use three dice, instead of one. If you are familiar with the method you will see how this can really speed things up as you wait for the last numbers to be rolled. It is a great refinement on an already wonderful ruse.
The routines that come with this are also first class and it is truly an effect that packs flat and plays big. The version of Nailed that appears on the DVD is one of the most fool proof you will find and is certainly recommended. There is also a great version of Bank Night.
The dice are very well made and look like normal dice – there are six dice included, but I have never seen the need to switch the three gimiicked ones for the three normal ones since they really are above suspicion.
A really wonderful utility item that you will find many uses for.
Review by Andy Martin for Kronos by Yves Doumergue
5 out of 5
What a Wonderful Magical Effect!
A few years ago there was an effect called Futour by Bazar de Magia. It required a card case to hold the gimmick, and it allowed you to borrow almost any watch and it would cause the watch to run very fast.
This effect is streets ahead of Futour – you can make the watch, stop, change time, and move forward all at your command. The gimmick is in plain sight all of the time and is really an amazing piece of micro electronics. By removing the need for the card case and givng better control of the watch this has turned a curiosity effect into some mind-blowing magic!
It appears to be very reliable and works every time. This is something you will really use.
Review by Andy Martin for Mental Safari by Magic Wagon
5 out of 5
The Best version of T.A. Waters’ Box Office
There have been many versions of Box Office by T.A. Waters – all unauthorized as far as I know. However, this one is probably the most practical and most reliable I have seen.
The box is small – 3.5 x 3.5 x 2 – and the mechanism works perfectly every time. Unlike some other versions, this box was clearly built from scratch for this routine.
In effect any one of the animals is chosen by the spectator and a single prediction is found in the bottom of the box, that matches. The effect has a different outcome every time. The spectator can open the box and open the prediction themselves. It is a very clean method.
This piece is not part of the Collector’s line of Magic Wagon effects, but it still is a beautiful piece and I really hope it is performed – since it is a really great piece of mentalisim.
Review by Andy Martin for Just In Case by Joe Porper, Pete Biro
5 out of 5
Another Really Wondeful Porper Production!
With this latest fine quality miracle from Joe Porper he has teamed up with magic legend Pete Biro and what sweet magic they produce together.
There are a number of routines you could perform with thie outfit from a straight ring flight (without a dangerous and risky reel) to a clean key off rope penetration.
But when you combine them together you have a real magical mystery: you borrow a ring and throw your key case onto the table. You then hand a shoelace to a spectator and say you are going to make their ring magicially appear on the shoelace under cover of a handkerchief.
Things go badly wrong and you find instead of the ring appearing on the string that your key does! This key is incredibly well made by the way. Then you open up the key case that has been in view all the time and find dangling from the chain is their ring firmly attached to the clasp inside.
Great entertainment, great props, great method, and easy to do!
Review by Andy Martin for Ring n Wallet by Doug Malloy
5 out of 5
Doug Malloy always GIves the Goods!
All of the Doug Malloy effects I have purchased have three things in common: they are complete entertaining routines, they are made very well, and they are easy to do.
This Ring ‘n’ Wallet is no exception. The wallet is very nice indeed – and after performing it for over Twenty years Doug has filled it with all of these gags, tips, ruses and otherwise useful stuff.
If you bother to follow along in the well produced video you will have another killer routine at your disposal. Learning all the bits of business will take you some time, but not because its difficult, just because there is a lot to pull together. But if you want a full 5 minute routine of anything it will take some practice. Doug provides everything you require to make this a true feature of your act.
If you are a performer then this is precisely the sort of magic you will use and will love.
Review by Andy Martin for Stealth Assassin Wallet v1.1 by Peter Nardi, Marc Spelmann
5 out of 5
Great Wallet the way it should have been made!
This is a great wallet, and now made the way it should have been in the first place. If you have 1.0 and don’t use it very much, then it probably is not worth upgrading since the changes though nice are relatively minor. However, if you do use the wallet then the upgrade makes more sense. Of course if you don’t have the 1.0 version then you are in for a real treat with this version.
The Stealth Assassin is very well made in England – not quite as good as Jerry O’Connell’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.
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