Year: 2009

Wow What an Entertaining and Colorful Beauty this is!

So I’ve been watching Francois Danis grow for the last few years and it is very clear with this latest release how far he has come. This is a perfect collector’s piece of magic. Each part of the prop from the beautiful presentation box to each of the engaging pieces are intriguing and superbly crafted. In the past I would not have said that Francois was as good as Alan Warner – but I do believe this piece is worthy of comparison. Very intricate with everything finished flawlessly.

As with all of Francois’s items it comes with an interesting story to fit the props – I found the translation not quite as good as I would like, but it is workable for sure. The effects are not new and neither are the ideas but the way they have been incorporated into the props and story line is very fresh.

I would go as far as saying this is the best prop that Francois has made thus far and I look forward to his new items. One thing you can always rely on Francois is some new twist on an old idea, and in this the Treasurer is very consistent.

Highly Recommended for Collector’s everywhere!

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An Old Effect Made Perfectly

So this is an old effect that has been made by many different builders. I don’t know who did the original, but this one by Francois Danis is certainly the most elegant I have seen.

It works very cleanly and the props are beautiful. It also comes in a number of different matching color schemes.

I have certainly been impressed with the last two items from Francois – they really are a step up from his early work, and represent the best craftsmanship I have seen for some time.

Recommended for Collector’s everywhere.

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What a Beauty and Works Better too!

So I’m a big fan of Gimpy’s Light and Heavy boxes, and think the original Mighty Mini is amazing. Click here for my previous review. So imagine my joy when I open this bad boy up. Hopefully from the pictures you can see how beautiful it looks, all decked out in solid Walnut and veneered in a rare Ash Burl, but what surprised me is how much better it seems to work. Maybe I’m fooling myself, but the mechanism seems to be more precise and easy to use.

Gimpy says that he has tweaked the gimmick, and whatever he did it certainly makes a difference. There are only twenty of these so get them before they all disappear.

This is truly a beautiful item.

Highly Recommended for Performers and Collectors everywhere!

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Still an Amazing Beauty with just a few left!

Readers of my reviews know already how enamoured I am with the items from the Magic Wagon. Their Collecter Line, in particular, is amazing! Well this item created in collaboration with Howie at The Trickery continues to be one of my favorites. The Sword of The Ring is a real fooler for sure.

You show the ornate box very openly and cleanly, take out the ring holder at the bottom and borrow any ring. The spectator places the ring in the holder and it is placed at the bottom of the Ring Tower. Everything is exactly as it looks. You close up the tower and hand out the sword for examination too. You now rest the sword at the top of the tower in two grooves and then slowly but surely lower the sword. Both ends can be clearly seen at all times and yet when you reach the bottom the ring is clearly on the sword and can be taken out by the spectator if desired.

This is a very clean penetration with beautiful props. Reset is immediate and there are no sleights, nothing is added or taken away, etc. There is one thing you have to do but it is trivial and covered beautifully in the routine – there is zero heat on you at the time of this "move". What is particularly nice is that when the penetration takes place the audience can really be staring and they’ll see or hear nothing – it looks very convincing.

The tower unit cannot be fully examined but the sword and holder can be and everything looks clean.

Highly Recommended!

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One of the Best Mikame Pieces

I’ve always liked this item from Mikame Craft – it is beautifully made and really a very clever, but simple idea. I remember talking to George Robinson about it a few years ago and he remarked how he wished he had come up with the idea – this is often the case with simple ideas. Once you know how it works you can’t help but think: "Why didn’t I think of that?" But such ideas are often the ones that elude us the most.

This item is also very well priced and if you don’t already have one you should get one now!

Highly Recommended for performers and collector’s alike!

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The Perfect Rattle Box!

What a wonder this little rattle box is – and I do mean little, it is a fraction of the size of regular rattle boxes. Craig Brooks has a real winner on his hands with this amazing little device. I have sold all my other rattle boxes and now only use this one. Unfortunately, this means I could not put a picture of a more traditional rattle box as a side by side comparison – but there is a huge difference in both height and length.

It looks beautiful and works perfectly too. This level of detail and very fine craftsmanship is something you rarely see these days, particularly for such an inexpensive item. The small size makes it all the more convincing as it is much closer in size to the coin you are vanishing. The new style rattle mechanism, which takes a little while to get used to, is unique to Craig’s box too and you soon realize what you’ve been missing all these years!

All in all, a very perfect addition to my collection – and this time I’ll keep it!

Highly Recommended!

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Ok, time for my New Favorite Wallet!

Thank-you Martin Breese for giving me a reason for buying yet another wallet. Good Bloody Night this is amazing!!! I thought I had enough wallets, but this one really is my favorite now. Honest!

The well written and well produced instruction booklet details 5 routines and I didn’t get past the first one before I just had to photograph and get this review up. You know that feeling when you buy an effect and just love everything about it: the price, the quality, the simplicity, the cunning, the versatility, and the totally mind blowing reaction that is surely going to happen whenever you perform it? This has all of this and more. The wallet is even a great size, instead of those huge wallets you sometimes see.

Yes you can still keep all of your other wallets, but you will use this one the most. I can’t wait to read the other routines.

The World’s Most Fantastic Card-in-Wallet is the first effect, and it truly is. It is a clean no palming version, where the wallet is clearly shown empty when you give it to the spectator and yet the freely chosen and signed card still appears slap bang in the wallet when they open it!

When you practice it you keep pinching yourself because it is so wonderful. Just beautiful.

I could not recommend this effect more.

Click here for more information.