Andy Martin

This had me fooled!

This is a clever little miracle from Wayne Dobson and I love it!

You show a domino with 6 dots that can freely be moved around and ask a spectator to position them in any combination they fancy. Then as a gag you talk about how magicians use mirrors all the time in their acts. You bring out a mirror and explain how you had made a prediction of the domino they would create – just look in the mirror and there is the reflection of their chosen domino!

Of course they are not impressed, so then the magician turns over the mirror and their is there choice printed on the back!

This is a very sweet fool proof prediction, with instant reset and very easy to do. It will fool you too!

This is my favorite of the Wayne Dobson miracles I recently purchased. Keep an eye on this guy – he has some wonderful magic!

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Grab these while you can!

This little bottle is a wonderful piece that you will be proud to own. It is easy to do and comes with some great ideas. I suggest you snap these up because I don’t know how George is able to offer these at such low prices. For the amount of work involved they are a huge deal!

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Surprisingly Nice!

When I purchased this effect on ebay I wasn’t sure how good it would be. When it arrived I still wasn’t sure. But after playing with it for a while I’ve decided it really is a nice peice of magic.

The card dice are well made, the box they come in is practical, albeit not beautiful or solid wood, and the gimmicked cards are preprinted on bicycle stock and look great.

The basic effect is as follows: you show 6 card dice on all sides and assemble them into a card shape. The card showing on both sides is all mixed up of course and you cover the whole stack with a silk. A spectator chooses a card (forced) and the silk is lifted and the card dice have transformed into their chosen card! The magician offers to perform it again but this time they choose a card and don’t look at it. The magician then reveals the card dice again and amid giggles from the audience he notices that instead of being a complete card it is a jumbled up mess. But never mind because when the spectator turns their card over it too is a jumbled up mess.

The effect requires two cards to be forced and a simple move which is certainly not big enough to call a sleight, plus you have the full cover of the silk to do it under. After thirty minutes you’ll have the workings of this down pat, and then of course you’ll just need to focus on your overall presentation.

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Wow! This is Amazing!

This effect is beautiful, clever, and convincing, but does require getting very comfortable with the method by practicing it enough so that it is automatic – it is not hard and the impact is so huge the effort is more than worth it. In fact the more convincing your presentational skills are the easier you will find this.

Once you get it smooth I defy you to find a more convincing piece of mentalism. Now factor in that it costs less than $50, packs flat and doesn’t need any pesky batteries (as so much "mentalism" does these days), you just can’t go wrong!

As for the method, you will just die when you see it – very clever indeed. I believe you can fool anyone who is not in the know with this. But you do need to spend a few hours so that it is second nature.

I am sure you will not be dissappointed with your small investment on this one.

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Loads of Shells, but quality is not Johnson!

These jumbo coins from Henry Evens are a little dissappointing. They look pretty good even close-up, but when you actually handle them they are only ok. The coins themselves could be a bit thicker and the stamps more central. The shells feel flimsy and although I’m quite sure they look superb in Mr. Evans’ hands I found them just a bit too light.

The instructions that come with the package are poorly printed and short. When you’re paying this much the least they could have done was throw in better instructions with some step by step photos.

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No new concepts here, but beautifully made all the same!

This is a dressed up version of an old principle that works very well. The block and cabinet are very solid and beatifully made. The doors are a bit too tight when you first get it but after a few practices this loosens up ok.

The effect is certainly easy to do and it is a real fooler. You simple show the cord running through the cube and box, then close it all up and on your command the cord penetrates the box, and everything can be examined.

Some good news: it doesn’t use any threads, there is nothing to switch, and reset takes about 10 seconds.

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Different from Douglas-Wayne Illusioneering, But More Practical!

Ok so if you have ever seen the Douglas-Wayne Illusioneering version of this effect you will at first be a bit disappointed. The Douglas-Wayne Illusioneering version is a faithful reproduction of the drawings in Hoffmann’s Modern Magic. It is smaller, particularly the tower the coin rises up on, and it is slightly better made. However, it is quite a big pain to set-up and how the coin rises behind the window can be seen in certain lighting conditions.

With the Mikame version, reset is much, much easier using a clockwork mechanism and the coin rises in broad daylight with no clue as to how even with bright lights shining on the tower. It is also wide enough so that the coin rises without touching the sides so it really does look like it is rising unaided.

The kicker of course is that when it gets to the top you hear it hit the top and then find it in the little box that is locked and on top. The coin can be signed if desired.

To the audience this Mikame version probably looks better and since it is much easier to reset, I believe it is more likely to be actually performed, rather than sitting on the shelf looking cool.

The collector will certainly prefer the Douglas-Wayne Illusioneering version, however if you really want to perform this more than once a year I think you are better off with the Mikame version. Although the craftsmanship doesn’t quite measure up to Douglas-Wayne Illusioneering Quality it is still a very nice piece and something you will be proud to own and perform.

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This Makes More Sense than a Niffen Tube!

So the problem with a Niffen Tube is that it’s a Niffen Tube – what the heck is one of those? This Cocktail Shaker on the other hand will pass for a real cocktail shaker and can be used to transform liquids, silks, or anything small that will fit in the tube. You could transform a red silk to red wine and many other combinations of transformations. I believe the transformation is also more convincing than a regular tube too.

This device is very nicely made using stainless steel and will last a life time. I found the screw on lids to not screw down all the way, but that looked like it was done by design.

This effect is made in Germany and is distributed by Viking Mfg and it’s ever growing dealer network.

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Osterlind rules!

I just love watching Richard Osterlind! With almost no special props he performs clean and incredibly powerful mentalism right before your very eyes. When he takes you through the explanations your respect for this man contines to grow. He just nails the effects with the simplest of methods and techniques.

The 2nd volume which is exclusively on his stacked deck (the Breakthrough Card System) is one of my favorites as he performs a whole act using the same stack each time, and each effect is wildy different. He also explains in detail the stack itself so you don’t even need to buy the book!

This is very practical mentalism from one of the best performers in the business. Highly recommended!

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This is more like it!

There are way too many locks and key effects on the market. This one from David De-Val has gone straight to my favorite list because it is so clean.

It can be used to lock a ring on the hasp, a box, bag, etc. The genuine, heavy, brass padlock is made in England by Squire. Of course after showing only 1 of the 7 keys unlocks the padlock, the performer or spectator can always choose the correct key.

What makes this method so clean is that at no time whatsoever does the magician need to touch the padlock or keys – either during the testing phase or the final choice of the key that opens the padlock. Once the effect is over the magician does need to briefly touch the padlock to reset it – but this can be done after the performance or just in the process of handing the padlock out again (if desired).

There are also no external pins, magnets, batteries or gimmicks to worry about. Truly the best version of Annemann’s Seven Keys to Baldpate type effect that I have seen.

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