Simple but Still Effective.
This was a bit of a plesant surprise. The props are very simple looking, and yet without any funny moves at all you can always tell which can the coin is placed into.
There are no gimmicks and everything can be examined before and after and you can repeat it with a different outcome immediately. You don’t even have to touch the cans.
Very nice!
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So close to a real Winner!
El Duco frequently has some great ideas – I am not sure this is one of his however. Unfortunately, not all of his ideas are manufactured to the the standards that I would like. This particular effect is so close to being a real winner but I fould the manufacture only ok. I also think there are at least two other versions of this effect that are basically the same – one in brass and one in wood that probably should be checked also.
The idea is cool since it is the standard Cups and Coins effect, where the coins travel from one cup to the other, one by one. But with this version the coins are normal and the cups look pretty close to normal too. The two main problems I have with this unit are: 1) it should work with half dollars, but sometimes in practice it did not due to the quality of the finishout for the gaff, 2) the quality of the cups is good all round, but inside they are not finished properly and I’m not sure why.
This being said, if you do it with quarters or halves (assuming I just have a poor cup) it is much easier than the other version and there is no banging of the cup on the table, or any such madness!
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An unusual idea and a fooler!
Here we have another El Duco effect that is unusual and a fooler. The props are workable, just not beautiful.
The effect is you show a hand in a stand and borrow a ring from a member of the audience. Under cover of a hanky you then place the ring on one of the fingers – without the spectator knowing which one. They now are given a pen and a small white board with the shape of a hand on it and are asked to circle just one finger. They have a totally free choice, and yet when you remove the hanky there is the ring on the correct finger. This works everytime and can be repeated if you so desire.
Once you have the knack it is easy to do, but does take some practice at first and cannot be done totally surrounded.
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It is Portable and Affordable and Works, but a bit flimsy.
I have always loved the card sword effect and when I saw Jay Leslie advertising this effect, I thought I’d give it a go. The size of the sword makes is suitable for smaller gatherings that a fullsize card sword is just not suitable for. The method is different from other card swords I have seen, and works well. I don’t believe you would be doing this for close-up, but for parlour or stage it would be fine.
However there are two problems with it: you cannot show the sword from all sides, even in motion, and the sword itself is a bit flimsy and I personally would have preferred to pay extra for a slightly more solid sword.
It is still a worthy attempt, and you should find yourself using this.
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One very heavy lock trick
The American Lock Co. lock used in this effect is quite impressive in itself. It’s big and heavy for a padlock. I have an original and that was a Series 700 lock, which I assume is still used for the effect. The one drawback to this version is that the method requires the performer to open the lock at the end. This is in contrast to Key-R-Rect, where the spectator is allowed to do the unlocking. Now the presentation included with the effect takes this into account, but still it is rather awkward and suspicion may be aroused that the lock is gimmicked.
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A Beautiful Penetration Effect
This is a very nice penetration effect, with absolutely magnificent props. Every time I obtain an Alan Warner effect, I marvel at the craftsmanship, the sheer beauty of the prop. The presentation, coupled with these enchanting props, makes for a very entertaining piece of magic
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Great Gimmicks, but takes some handling!
It is easy to have the belief that when you buy gimmicked coins you won’t really need to do any sleights. In the case of this effect it is not true. The gimmicks are very nicely made, and create an impossible effect. However, to do this convincingly requires a fair amount of practice of some standard sleights.
Of course, once you have mastered the moves you will have an absolute miracle on your hands and feel pretty proud of yourself at the same time!
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Impossibilia: A Short Review
This book contains very simple and easy to perform tricks that focus on performance over sleights. The effects are ALL powerful and things that you would use in everyday work. I am a card guy so I concentrated more on the card effects in this book and they are all amazing. The Bonus routine involving a card being "printed" is quite amazing if I say so myself. There is also a prediction effect which is simple, witty, and hard hitting. I recommend to pick this book up NOW if you want some new, intriguing, magic for your repertoire.
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Great for Hobbyists – just don’t open a Store with it!
Making up decks with short cards, narrow cards and rough and smooth is great fun! Until this unit came along there really wasn’t much of an alternative but to get a professional unit to do your card cutting. Of course if you had the cash having one of these would be best. However, not many people have $700-$2000 spare to spend on a card cutter.
I have made up three decks with this card cutter and found it to do a fine job. It is not very flexible because you are unable to change the size of the cut you are making – if it is not one of the 5 templates that come with the unit. Most hobbyists want to create short cards or strippers, and as long as you don’t want to increase the depth of the cut this will do a fine job. You have to be careful and hold the card steady but it is certainly possible to create a svengali or stripper deck with no problem. And is quicker than you would imagine – about 30 minutes should see you done with a complete deck once you get the hang of it.
I was unable to create a Chameleon deck (where you have cards in sets of 3) as the short cards were not short enough and gave me incomplete results.
But if you need to shorten odd cards for packet tricks or make up some standard decks you should be fine and it is great fun to experiment. This unit will not round corners either so you will need something else to do that, and the instructions provide a number of options. You can get them from an office supplies store or pay twice as much for this one!
I hope to be able to get a proper card cutter one day, but until that happens this will keep me happy!
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Classic MAK with a very magical Finish.
This is a well made, bright and colorful effect that has a very magical finish. The set-up is straight forward and the working is smooth with no real issues and it is easy to perform.
Basically in effect you show some rice that you pour into the center canister. Then you show an orange and place it under the right hand Tube and under the left hand tube you have some checkers which can be seen to be separate.
When the Magic happens everything changes places: the orange goes to the center canister which can now be turned upside down and shown empty. The checkers appear where the orange was and the rice appears loose uner the tube where the checkers were. The changes are quite amazing to see and are easy to acomplish. The only downside I find with effects like this is an entertaining patter line.
This is classic MAK Magic in a nutshell and for many magicians this is just what they are looking for!
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