Andy Martin

A Real Fooler!

I re-read my orignal review on this and think I was off the mark. This is a very clever penetration effect, that is simple to do and looks totally amazing.

The props are clean and there are no difficult or suspicious moves. I’m glad I was lucky enough to find another one for my collection.

One of Clarence’s best!

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The Best Version so Far!

I have always liked this Trickery Exclusive, and have owned 3 different versions now. This latest release is certainly the best so far! The quality of boxes is much better than before and the walnut looks great.

In effect you show two boxes of miniature cards: one with red backs and one with blue backs. A color is chosen and the box is closed and placed in front of the spectator. Then a card is chosen from the remaining deck The magician explains that the card is going to turn itself face up in the box that was placed in front of them. But, when the box is opened not only has the card turned face-up the rest of the deck has vanished. It is a great little effect that is basically automatic in working.

Apart from the better quality of these boxes, one new feature has been included – you no longer need to fold the cards in half.

Could the boxes be better? Yes, if J.L. Wright were back! The brass hinge on the back is a bit big and I’m not sure why. The Trickery’s current wood guy is better than most of the ones they have used for sure and they are much closer to the level of craftsmen like Alan Warner, George Robinson, and Mel Babcock. However, they are not quite there yet, but with the exception of a couple of people I know most collectors and performers will be delighted with this latest version.

Recommended.

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Pure Magic, you just need a glass Table!

This effect is one of the few that you can buy that really does look like real magic. The gimmicks are simple, but effective, and with solid practice you really can produce an incredible miracle: a coin visually penetrating a glass table.

For the impact on the audience the moves required are not difficult, but the solid practice comes in because it all needs to be smooth. The gimmicks do most of the work, but for this illusion to look like real magic, you don’t want any hesitation when you do them. To be honest this is true for all magic anyway, so nothing new here!

The DVD is very well produced and clearly explains everything, and set-up is simple. You will not be dissappointed with the method either.

The only real downside with this effect is you need a glass Table!

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The Best Pea Can

I’ve always liked the Pea Can and this new one from my good friend George Robinson at Viking Magic is the best I have seen. Unlike the old version, the lip on the gimmick (assuming you know what I am talking about) is very thin, so visibly when the transformation from Pea to "PEE" happens there is no visible difference in the size of the brass container.

This might not be an incredible miracle, but it is a great piece of entertainment, and now the mystery is even greater. I will be using this again in my act just to break things up a bit!

Great Job George!

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Very Clever Box

This is the second time around for me on this clever box from Mikame Craft. Unlike alot of their high quality "remakes", this appears to be unique to them. The construction of the box is solid and the whole thing can be examined.

But at any time without adding or taking anything away you can secretly access the contents of the box for divinations or substitutions.

The mechanism is cleverly built into the box with no electronics or other crazy gimmicks. It just works very well and the view you get of the inside allows you to see anything placed inside the box.

Highly Recommended!

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Just One More Wallet, please!

Ok, so as you have probably figured out by now I love leather wallets! For my money Jerry O’Connell easily makes the best quality magic wallets. However, there is still room for well made wallets with some neat features.

The Stealth Assassin is one of those wallets. It is very well made in the England – not quite as good as Jerry’s work, but still very fine, and it has a heck of a lot built into the one wallet. Most wallets you can set-up for one trick, and it does it well, but then you are done. With the Assassin you can set it up for 3 or 4 effects with little trouble and each one uses a different feature of the wallet.

You can use it as Peek Wallet, a Mutiple out prediction Wallet, an Out to Lunch Wallet, and even a card to wallet with variations on these themes. I could easily see you building a whole act around the wallet, and in such a way that the wallet does not seem like a prop. It is just a wallet for holding predictions and cards for the effects.

The wallet looks very normal and easily fits in your shirt pocket – Peter says you can use it as your real wallet, and I have no issues with that – you really could. The two DVD’s that come with it have Peter Nardi + Marc Spelmann in fine form, and they made me feel a bit homesick for sunny old London. They detail many routines, tips, and ideas in over two hours of video.

This is a wonderful package with which you can build some very sweet magic and it all fits into a neat little space.

Highly Recommended!

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Quality Coins and easy changes!

These are a heavy set of coins that make it pretty easy to change colors from a Black Chinese Coin, to a Red and to a Blue that can be handed out for examination if so desired. I just like to spin the coin in the air at the end showing the hands as clean as a whistle.

The moves are easy and there is not much to learn. The coin is heavy and better than many I have seen. The only issue I found is that you have to be a bit careful when you show the black coin, as if you are not you might expose a slight blue coin. It is probably not a real issue, but it is something I noticed whilst practing in the mirror.

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Nice Balls!

Wow, I really like these Mini Baseballs from Michael Sullivan at Simply Magic. They are a great weight and the stitching is really neatly done. To me they look like real Mini Baseballs.

I also found that the chop ball to be perfectly weighted and it was just right for my chop Cup, not too strong and not too weak.

Overall, a real pleasure to use and I found Michael to be fast and friendly with his emails and shipping from Austrialia took about 7 days.

If you are looking for something a bit more entertaining than the normal balls for cups and balls these are perfect, and of course easily lead into baseball themed final loads.

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The Perfect PK Ring

So I’ve really liked the Elohim Ring for years now, but when this new Wizard PK ring came a long it was a no brainer. It looks very innocent, comes in 3 sizes to fit almost anyone and works very well with a lot of magnetic power. It kinds of reminds me of an ant, because you can pick up a lot bigger than the ring itself.

If you ever need any sort of magnetism in your fingers, this is the way to go. It’s funny to note that in the last 13 years of marriage I have hardly ever taken off my wedding ring, but since I bought this ring I have been whipping it on and off all the time!

The only comment I would make is that if you wear this ring full time I am pretty sure you will sooner or later destroy a credit card or two since I am you will rub the ring against the black strip.

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So beautiful you should buy 3!

My advice to people buying the Johnson Chop Cup is buy 3 instead and don’t even bother getting the normal cups! I can’t tell the difference between the cups and having 3 chops is always better than 1!

I know the Johnson cups are a well respected in the industry as a fine set of medium priced cups. For the price I find it hard to see how they can be beat. They are a great weight, look great, and handle smoothly.

The chop cup itself is weighted just right too.

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