Review by Andy Martin for Money Paddle by Joe Porper
5 out of 5
The Best Money Paddle!
This is easily the best Money Paddle I have owned. Better than the Jay Leslie one, which I thought was real nice too.
Its made of black aluminum and the mirror is shiny and real looking, and its very well machined, with notches for the rubber bands and a good weight to it. Joe Porper makes some real nice pieces!
Review by George Guerra for Card In Glass by Collectors' Workshop
5 out of 5
TV Card Effect in Your Hands
I bought this little CW curiosity from a fellow collector not too long ago because 1) it’s an early discontinued CW item, and 2 ) always had a fascination with this long time classic of magic. Now, the best of the bunch is the CW BulletProof, but this one is unusual as no frames are involved and it uses a miniature deck of cards.
The principle is still basically the same, except the mechanics is all brass construction and, well, kind of "hidden". The choice of using a miniature deck makes it a little more doable. This is one of those review items where the "works" is almost needed to be photographed as that is the heart of the whole thing. As usual, CW did a very nice job and for those fascinated by magical gadgetry, I don’t think you will be disappointed.
I don’t think I would be comfortable performing this, but, if you collect Collectors’ Workshop, as I do, it is a welcomed piece to add. I give it 5 stars for ingenuity and as a unique version of a classic effect.
This is another clever and beautifully made effect from Ton Onosaka. All of Ton’s magic is a pleasure to work with; it is typically clever, commercial, well made in high quality plastics, and very affordable.
In this particular effect a Spectator chooses a card and you claim that you have a prediction on the chosen card in an envelope. When you pull the prediction out it is seen to be a frame with miniatures of the entire deck: faces on one side and backs on the other. The spectator is not impressed!
So you ask the spectator to wave their hand over the frame. Suddenly there is a card turned face over! You slowly, but surely, turn over the frame and there is one card turned over – it is there card!
This is a beautiful effect and very clever in operation. Buy it now!
Review by Andy Martin for Coincimental by Ed Mellon, Spencer Thornton
4 out of 5
Amazing Trick but Cheap Cards!
This is a very clever and convincing effect invented by Dr. Spencer P. Thornton and marketed by Ed Mellon. The props are simple and the revelation quite amazing. However, the cards supplied with this effect are cheap quality and stick together easily. If you want to do this more than once, and I think you will, you’d be wise to invest in some better quality cards.
But regardless of the quality of the cards the effect is quite stunning. You show a deck of alphabet cards that are clearly different and pick 4 that you place in a stand. The audience member now removes any 5 cards from the deck. From these 5 he freely discards any 1 and arranges the 4 that remain in any order to form a word. Amazingly enough when you reveal your previously chosen letters not only do they match the spectator’s but you are also spelling out the same word.
There are no moves and it looks like genuine mentalism. This would be a 5 star effect, but the cards reduced it by one. Contrary to the Ad Copy these are not, in my opinion, printed on heavy card stock.
Review by Andy Martin for Boulevard 54 by Bazar de Magia
5 out of 5
Finally a practical way to Shatter Glass!
So I have never been a lover of the special tables that shatter glasses, it just seems too obvious to me. However, this very well made book with built in glass shatterer is the way to go. In addition, by adding the book test to the book it seems you now have a reason for the book and demonstrate the power of your mind to read their thoughts first and then to use the same power to break a glass.
This could be huge! Of course, the biggest problem with any of these glass breaking tricks is: you’re breaking a glass! So be very careful where and when you do this, but in the right situation with the right precautions I really like this effect.
The mechanism is very well made too, and 100% reliable.
If you’re looking for a glass breaking effect, this is without doubt the one for you!
Review by Andy Martin for The Red Carpet by Ari Soroka, Jason Palter
5 out of 5
Plays Big, Looks Great, Wonderful Surprise Ending
Jason Palter has a winner on his hands here. The props are first class, the routine has some good laughs on the way, and in the end the revelation takes everyone by surprise.
The method is nothing new, but the props make it seem very clean, and the routine keeps the audience nicely entertained. It is easy to perform but requires some practice to make the performance seem convincing.
The sketch book is particularly well produced and this is a real packs flat plays big effect, suitable for small parlour to small stage.
What I really like about this effect is that it is different. Instead of the usual predictions we are used to this one has a very visual prediction that no one is expecting.
The only real downside with the effect is that it is the same outcome everytime. But it would be quite possible to rectify this and maybe for a few extra bucks Jason will come up with an alternate ending.
If you are looking for a performance piece that is a bit different then The Red Carpet is waiting for you!
Review by Andy Martin for No Camera Tricks by Richard Osterlind
5 out of 5
Richard Osterlind Keeps Getting Better!
I’m a big fan of Richard Osterlind. However, I must admit to thinking that after the 11 other DVD’s I have of his that there would be a lot of repetition in this offering. How wrong could I be! Not only is there plenty of new material on these DVD’s the performances are amazing!
I was totally on the edge of my seat for the Rubiks cube demonstration and was cheering at the end. VooDoo had me scrambling to buy two Viking Card boxes and chilled me to the bone! Pegasus Page totally fooled me! Dracual/Errata is just beautiful, the list goes on and on. Time and time again when you think you have seen all Richard has to offer, you find he has plenty more in the wings.
You will not find better magic on TV than Richard Osterlind – No Camera Tricks, this truly is how magic should be peformed on TV. When will you have your own series Richard as I’m sure it would be a huge success!
Review by Andy Martin for Technicolor Prediction by Martin Lewis
5 out of 5
Clean, Easy, Entertaining, and Nice Surprise Ending
This is a wonderful piece of entertaining Mentalism from Martin Lewis. Everything looks very clean and above board and the audience are sure they know how it works, until the final kicker ending when the magician shows he predicted the precise color of each envelope and who would pick them in advance.
It’s rare to find mentalism effects that are this much fun, easy to do, and end up having a very strong magical ending.
Review by Andy Martin for See-Thru Geneva Prediction Watch by Collector's Workshop, Joe Silkie
5 out of 5
Beautiful Watch and Great Effect
I think the original Geneva Prediction Watch is a beautiful piece of mentalism. This See-Thru version is the same effect but it uses a See-Thru watch in which all the clock-works can be seen ticking away during the performance. In fact the watch is a real watch that has been gimmicked for the effect.
This watch is a bit more impressive looking than the original and in fact the mechanism is a bit easier to trigger. However, it is hard to decide which one I prefer because although I really like the idea of hearing and seeing the watch working, in this version the magician has to reaveal the prediction time, whereas in the original the spectator can do it in their own hands.
In the end it is probably personal perference.
Either way both watches are beautiful and the method is still unique to these two watches.
Review by Andy Martin for Ultimate Ring and String by Jay Leslie
5 out of 5
Heavy Brass and Ultra Convicing Moves
Jay Lesilie is a guy that produces a lot of magic, but is sometimes a bit spotty with the quality. These beautiful brass coins are one of the best things he produces, they are so heavy and well made that you just enjoy holding them.
If you watch the routine that Jay does with these bad boys you will be amazed, for a little bit of effort you have an amazing routine that is hard to beat.
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