Andy Martin

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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Magic Dealers might as well close!

I have spent a fortune on magic tricks and it amuses me how easily Richard Osterlind performs these incredible miracles with such every day objects. When you see him go through classic effects by Koran, Annemann, Corinda, Hoy, and others using precisely the methods and routines that they employed, without all of the "clever" enhancements that have come along over the years, it is really quite mind blowing.

It also becomes very clear, as I pointed out in my book review of Bruce Elliot’s Classic Secrets of Magic, that you really don’t need a lot of money to be a world class magician or mentalist. Just practice and presentation and lots of it.

Now it is fun buying "clever" magic tricks. Just don’t try to convince yourself that you need them to amaze and entertain an audience. You don’t and Richard Osterlind demonstrates this oh so clearly.

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I just Love this Effect!

This is the second version of T.A. Water’s Box Office that I have assembled from off the shelf parts – the other version was a bit more impressive, but in fact this one works better. It is just a very clever idea and whenever I find a box that will work I try and find some pieces to use for it.

I was particularly happy with this set because the box is perfectly designed for the effect.

The effect is well known by now I’m sure but goes as follows: you open the lid on the Pharaoh Keepsake box and inside are 5 different Egyptian symbols. You turn around and ask the spectator to choose any symbol, place it in their pocket and close the lid so that you cannot see it. You then open up the drawer of the box and find that there is just one symbol as a prediction in the box – naturally it matches their selection.

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The Best Card Clips!

Well when you want the best card clips money can buy you need look no further than Joe Porper.

These just do the job they were designed to do and keep your cards straight and in good working order. Until I started doing more walk-around recently I didn’t really see the use for them. But your cards start getting tatty really quickly if you don’t have some sort of clip.

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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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This is Wild!

Every now and then an effect comes along that is so different it floors all the pros. This effect is just one of those effects. It looks like real magic, if we can remember what that looks like!

It is easy to do but does take a bit of handling practice … that means it will take 5 mins. to do it when you receive it but a couple of hours handling to make it smooth and get the angles right.

The gimmick works with any normal deck of cards and if you desire to use a different brand or color you can do so with a little effort. The cards can be freely handled before and after the effect too.

A very nice piece of real magic for the Holidays!

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This really is a Wonderful Utility Prop!

I love this prop. It has many, many uses and is a clever, but simple to operate, prop that you will love. You can perform many kinds of prediction effects from cards, to billets, to random questions. You can use it to force a card or cards, colors, numbers, etc. You can use it for a very clean Bank Night effect.

You can also use this prop to display cards, as a tray or as a black board. In addition, it is a very clever switching device that is very clean and silent. It truly is a utility prop.

This version comes with 4 pages of routines and ideas by Jay Leslie.

This effect was created by Herb Ort in 1956. It was then purchased by Jim Swoger in 1971 and the House of Enchantment. It has subsequently been re-released by Jay Leslie and the House of Enchantment in 2004. Illusion Makers made an unauthorized copy using the same method in the late ’70s or early ’80’s called Quadraplex. Quadraplex was built slightly better than the current Util-A-Prop with finer woods and materials, but they did so without any authority or permission of the original inventor. Even so Util-A-Prop is very well made and you will find many uses for it.

Highly Recommended!

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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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Beautiful Collector’s Wand

This is a very finely crafted wand made from pure crystal. They are nice and heavy and the first thing my Son said was "Can they do more Magic Daddy?" Well in the right hands they surely can!

Each one is signed by Victor Trabucco and they come in a very fine cherry wood display box. These boxes themselves are a joy to behold and even have these cool "hidden hinges" that I have not seen before.

All in all a very fine wand for the Collector or that special Magician in your life!

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Huge Load Capacity!

This production effect from Ickle Pickle is a very convincing way to produce a large load.

You show the box which you say you use to store your Magic Wand and show the clear box empty. Then you place the lid on the box, remove your magic wand and chant your magicial incantations and when the box is lifted it is filled with whatever your little heart desires.

This is a great way to produce candy for kids parties, or money, a smally bunny or almost anything else – the load capacity is almost as big as the box itself! You could even use it to switch billets for a question/answer type effect. The top and base of this box are made in wood, and the clear acrylic insert is rigid and solid and will last a lifetime. To release the load is simplicity itself and ther are no springs or catches to worry about.

The only downside I have with this box is that the finish is slightly marred due to the sticky plastic that is applied to the box during storage – it seems to be applied to the box even before the paint is fully dry as you can see an impression of it on the box. This could just be my copy, but it is a shame because it spoils an otherwise fine paint job.

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