Author: reviews

This was released through Busby-Corin, Inc. which was the Oakland, California company formed when Jeff Busby joined forces with the talented Close-up performer, Matt Corin, from 1979 to 1981.

It is hard to believe this amazing electronic beauty was released in 1981, as it looks and feels like it is from a later period, it is that well designed.  There are no signs of any electronics or switches and there is nothing added or taken away.  No remotes to worry about or lose either.  This is unit #04 and is the only one I’ve ever seen of this fine effect so I don’t believe there are many of these lying around and they certainly don’t come for sale very often.

A very rare beauty created by a master craftsmen for sure. They really don’t make them like this anymore. The woodwork and the electronics are perfect, and work flawlessly almost forty years later! Try that with some of the modern so-called electronic miracles.

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And here is the final effect from Magic Wagon for 2019 and I’m actually caught up for the first time in years! This is another unique and well made effect which looks good and will certainly appeal to collectors. There appears to be no sign as to where the little golden meteor ball disappears too – it simply vanishes between the two blocks into thin air!

In some ways it is similar to the Atomic ball effect with a little more dressing. Some collector’s really love all the dressing up of the props, but if you are going to perform to lay people I prefer things stripped down – well made, but without all the frills. That is why I much prefer the original Magiro Hydro Die to the much more impressive Magic Wagon Majestic Hydro Die. In many ways this is why I like Eddy Taytelbaum’s magic so much – he makes really excellent props but with the possible exception of his Mummies they are understated without too many extra embellishments. But it takes all sorts and these beautiful props do make for a very wonderful display 🙂

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If you actually want to perform to lay people in almost any situation and really fool them this is one of the very best items ever produced by Magic Wagon. It is created in conjunction with John M. Talbot, Viking Mfg., and Tony Curtis.

Although many Magic Wagon collectors rave about the original Diceolation to my mind it is a lot of prop for a pretty simple one off effect which just doesn’t get me that excited. But what I love about John M. Talbot’s routine 3rd Degree Psychic, that comes with this effect, is that it is a three phase routine that builds all the way to the end, and is done with much smaller props that can be held by the spectator, instantly reset and popped into the pocket as you walk to your next group. To my mind it is so much better than Diceolation or a related predecessor Badlands Box Dieluxe.  If you want a cool item to impress the boys at club Diceolation is fine, but if you actually want to perform it regularly, Mini Diceolation is the one to track down and use 🙂

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What a wonderful item from Vienna Magic.  As with most of their magic the skull and electronics are all very well made. The box even holds a deck of cards inside the box, which seems obvious, but I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen similar props that cannot accommodate the items you will use with the effect.

One of the great things about this prop is it is a simply matter of pressing a button to create a new recording, and there is also a switch to disguise your voice by slowing it down. There is nothing worse than trying to have a voice from beyond which sounds exactly like your own voice 🙁

This is a utility prop that allows you to easily record any message of a few seconds, including music, and it will replay it when the skull is briefly swiped over the upper right hand corner. However you can freely place the skull in the center and nothing will happen. The box can contain a deck of cards, or a notepad, billets, dominoes, rings, coins, etc. Whatever you what to use as the final revelation. The instructions included tell you how to set-up and use the prop, but do not provide any routine so that is left to the performer.

You could change the PK object (the skull in this case) to something more appropriate if it fitted your routine better because it is simply a magnet in the skull that triggers the recording. And if desired you could simply use a magnetic ring or a concealed magnet in the hand.

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This is a beautiful illusion inspired by Harry Bohleno’s Visible Block Penetration c. 1946 though performed in a horizontal position. You know it is going to be good when you can find at least three YouTube videos of the effect. Yes three is the tell tale sign for Magic Wagon items 🙂 And although the videos shown are all good, Simon Corneille’s (Simcoscor) is exceptional. You will be very happy with this bad boy.

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This is a real beauty from P&L. It is not too bulky like others I have seen, and really looks like a vintage funnel and works perfectly with water flowing on demand. These were originally issued c. 1937 in nickel silver  (sometimes called Cupro Silver – click here for a discussion) and only later c. 1958 released in copper.

If you add a gimmicked ice pick you can “puncture” the boys arm before you start the pumping action!

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Copper Sandwich was actually invented by Al Koran c. 1948 and was originally performed with a matchbox and the gimmicked coins of the time (see New Pentagram April 1973, pg. 13). Eddie Gibson refined it, using more advanced coins, and created the brass box for an even cleaner and more amazing penetration.

This is the original version of Copper Sandwich with UK coins and compares with this later version using US coins.

It is a great effect which is easy to do and leaves no clues as to how the penetration occurs.

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A clever and beautiful transposition from Owen’s. Originally sold by Thayer’s as A Mirror Casket, Die and Flag c. 1918. It is easy to do and although this is not for close-up as a parlor or stage effect it will wow them all!

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They don’t make them like this anymore! Abbott’s started making high end shooting wands or Bang Wands c. 1938. I believe this one comes from c. 1987 because it has gold tips and the earlier wands had chrome plated tips. But it could be earlier. It is easily the heaviest and most substantial Bang Wand I have ever handled. For a brief moment I thought it was an Owen’s wand as it looks very similar to the Owen’s wands (see final photo), but it is not stamped Owen’s, the tips are slightly shorter, I could not find a Wand like this from Owen’s and finally it clearly matches the Abbott’s description.

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