Reviews

In 1890 on page 181 of More Magic Professor Hoffman described The Climbing Coin. In 1992 Douglas-Wayne Illusioneering, founded by George Richbark and Dave Dorsett, created this beautiful reproduction staying true to Professor Hoffman’s description. And what a beauty it is.

This item is built with great precision by Douglas-Wayne Illusioneering and uses no electronics or clockwork mechanisms.  It is a little fiddly to set-up at first but it really doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes once you are familiar with it.  It does take some practice to ensure you place the pieces in the correct orientation, but after a few trials you’ll be able to perform this with ease.

Part of the charm of this piece is that it really is a good reproduction of the same effect described by Professor Hoffman.  And because it uses no electronics Collectors really love this type of effect 🙂

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This is a simple but effective method that if you didn’t know how it was done there is a good chance you would be scratching your head.  It is quite bold, but allows you to focus 100% on the performance.

There is zero set-up, no memory work and it is always ready to roll.  There are some angle issues but as long as the audience is somewhere in front of you everything works very well.

The instructions includes two routines: a color duplication detailed below and a children’s routine called Lucky Lotto.

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The effect is easy to do and for all the high-tech feel of the props, everything is basically manual and fool proof.  If you are looking for something a little different and want to spend an afternoon fine tuning the patter and the routine you’ll have the perfect routine here.

The props look perfect and the routine is sheer gold, all you need is a little bit of acting to bring it home 🙂

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A classic utility device for transforming pretty much anything that fits inside the tube – including liquids. This is a very good quality tube that should last a lifetime. Not quite as good as the Milson-Worth version, but close enough for most. A good size too at 6″ x 2″.

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The first time I saw this wonderful effect, invented by the talented German Inventor and Craftsman Wolfgang Grosskopf, was when Olaf Güthling shared with me his stunning version. This version, created by Germany’s Magic Workshop, is not quite as impressive, or authentic looking, but nevertheless it really is a beautiful item.  In the world of 3D printed and resin items we often find these days anything made in real wood is always a treat 🙂

Magic Workshop  is a small magic manufacturer and dealer that was opened by magician and craftsman Laszlo Madaras in 2017. This is the first time I have purchased directly from them and the order was shipped on Monday and arrived on Thursday – that was quite magical itself and I look forward to purchasing more items in the future from this dealer.

The effect is great and easy to do.  If you’re in the 60+ club you’ll probably need the crib sheet to remember where to turn the handle to get the correct ball, but with that in hand you can be performing this the same afternoon it arrives in the mail.

One issue I had was that there was not enough padding in the drawer so it was pretty noisy.  If you watch my Speed Demo there is barely any sound now. Also for some reason the routine suggests you produce the black ball first – since the inside of the drawer is also black I think using a more contrasting color (e.g. red) makes a lot more sense.  You don’t want to open the drawer the first time and not have them notice the ball!!!

If you are wood guy like myself I have no doubt you will love this clever and well produced item 🙂

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From time to time some magic enthusiasts around the world send me photos of some very interesting props that I feel compelled to include on my site. This is an effect by the great German inventor and craftsman Wolfgang Grosskopf. This version was built by Olaf Güthling and he has created an amazing an authentic looking version of Wolfgang’s idea. This looks really beautiful. Great job Olaf!

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This was the final release by Magic Wagon in 2023 and I have not heard anything from them since 🙁

However, this is a real beauty.  The reviews on The Cafe are a mixed bag – some people love this and others hate it, but for me you have to embrace the fact they have created a perfect working, miniature version of the most iconic magic illusion of all time 🙂

It is easy to perform and the props look amazing – something Magic Wagon have excelled at for 18+ years. I personally would have preferred if they had used a more realistic flesh based figurine such as Cleopatra but that is a small point.

One of the nice things about taking a few months before I add Magic Wagon items to my site, is that it gives Simon Corneille time to produce a video. And this time it was well worth the wait as Simon has produced a real treat for the eyes and mind.  It does include other props from Magic Wagon that are not included with this release but Simon really knocks it out of the park this time – great job Simon 🙂

I don’t know what the future holds for Magic Wagon, but this is certainly one of their more memorable and interesting props.  Great job guys!

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This is a very clever version of Andre Kole’s Atomic Stock Pile Illusion created by Damir Djanis with assistance from George Robinson.  Even though this is the best version I have seen, the blocks cannot be examined and the spectators cannot get too close to the blocks.  The illusion looks excellent, but I suspect some lay people who watch would simply believe magnets are being used.  And although you can tell the audience “there are no magnets, wires, or threads used in this effect”, because they cannot examine the blocks I’m not sure how many will believe you.

This being said, I believe if you address this head on and use a strong magnet to demonstrate that there is no magnetism involved you can get close to removing the doubts.  My good friend George Robinson disagrees with me on this finer point, so I could be wildly wrong here  🙂

The routine has five phases and although they are not hard to do this will take some practice to get smooth which is why I believe there have been no videos added to YouTube by the usual suspects. The demo video looks great and the instructional video, performed by Chris Brent, is excellent and certainly makes learning the phases much simpler.

There is no doubt this is a beautiful item and since there are only 24 of them they are in strong demand and sold out months ago at Viking.

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I thought this was going to be a pretty nice budget priced wand. But this one has what look like vice marks on the tips – which is a shame and detracts from an otherwise fine budget priced wand ?

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