Andy Martin

This is another beautiful item from Retro Rocketeers based on Okito’s Triangular Mystery. It  is a little more convincing than Magic Wagon’s version called Dragon’s Alter c. 2011, considerably cheaper and the props still look amazing.

What I also like about this effect is that it is mostly made from wood, Australian Jarrah Eucalyptus to be precise, rather than plastic and 3D-Printing.  It is nice to see Anthony focusing on wood as well as plastic to produce the most pleasing items possible.

It seems that 2024 was a great year for Retro Rocketeers to really establish themselves 🙂

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Meister des Zufalls (Master of Chance) was invented by Lubor Fielder c. 1960 and published in issue 1 of the German magazine Zauberkunst in December 1962.  This first issue was filled with amazing ideas from Lubor and was sub-titled “Neue Magische Ideen” (New Magical Ideas) and boy was that title correct.  The world of magic would never be quite the same after seeing Lubor’s ingenious and out of the box thinking.

Master of Chance epitomizes Lubor Fielder’s out of the box thinking  and it has fooled some of the most knowledgeable magicians in the world. The most amazing feature of this particular effect is every method you come up with (extra spots, magnetic spots, sliding panels, switches, forces, etc.) are all wrong and unless you are shown the method it is unlikely you would ever come up with the solution.  Everything can be examined before and after the effect with nothing added or taken away, and it is always ready to perform.

Wellington Enterprises have really knocked the construction of this effect out of the park and focused on the absolute cleanness of the method to maximize every inch out of this effect.  So much so that I’m going to keep my set for a while, which if you watch my auctions, know is quite a rarity 🙂

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Even with the recent release of Wellington Enterprise’s perfect version of this effect Anthony Yap at Retro Rocketeers was not intimidated and set out to produce a different and improved version of Lubor’s creation.  Whilst Wellington’s version was really stripped down to almost no stylistic elements, Anthony has added some nice touches so visually the props look a little more interesting.  He has also incorporated some design tweaks that make doing the moves even simpler.

If I was to perform this effect to lay people I’d probably stick with the Wellington version, even though there is little doubt this Retro Rocketeers’ version is slightly simpler to perform.  However, because the whole effect is so clean and simple and with the addition of the printed triangle prediction in the Wellington version there is no heat on the move anyway, so making the move easier is almost unnecessary.

That being said this really is a very worthwhile version from Retro Rocketeers, and it is great to perform and looks good in your collection too.

Retro Rocketeers continue to produce well priced, interesting and improved versions of many amazing magical creations and I look forward to seeing more from them in 2025.

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I have owned many versions of Jack Hughes’ Penetra-Spheres (more popularly known as Hole in One) that Jack first invented c. 1937 (see World of Magic Vol. 1, pg. 109) . However, I must say this is the first version I have seen that pretty much works itself without any special balancing act and also allows the chosen ball to be placed in any location instead of the same place each time.

Anthony Yap at Retro Rocketeers really has created a marvelous version that looks great and works incredibly smoothly and although it cannot be examined it can be fairly freely shown all around without fear of detection.

What I really like about Anthony’s work is not only does he have the technical and creative skills to create these beautiful props, but he understands enough about performing magic to also create props that still make sense and routine well.  Sadly, this is not always the case with some collectible props.

The only minor issue I had with this release was the choice of marbles – they are quite fragile and in fact one arrived in pieces when this unit was shipped to me.  I have subsequently replaced the original marbles with more suitable ones that do not suffer from this weakness.  There are plenty of 16mm marbles to choose online so this was not a big deal.

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A rarely seen card box from the prolific Ed Massey that is particularly good for changing one or more cards into something else of reasonable bulk, e.g.:

• candy;
• cigarettes ;
• chocolate candy coins;
• a set of blue backed cards for red backed cards except the chosen one;
• a set of blue cards for all blank cards except the  chosen one.

It is also perfect for Richard Himber’s Big Trick (c. 1965) where all of the cards are cut up with a razor blade except for the chosen card.

When working with this and other card boxes that effectively switch one set of cards for another the use of  Juan Pablo’s Torn  Card Evolution can really clinch the deal because you can cleanly tear off the corner of the chosen card, and hand it to the spectator for safe keeping (without switching it).

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Couldn’t agree more with Barry – thanks for reminding me how good this effect is. Need to get it back into rotation.

Edward Victor created this effect c. 1950 and sold the rights to Ken Brooke which Ken started selling c. 1954.  The main move, the EYE Count, was invented by Chris Charlton c. 1940 for his Modern Monte effect.

As a teenager I purchased this from Ron MacMillan’s International Unique Magic Studio and used to perform it all the time. I loved how it used so little, with no reset, and yet had such a good impact.

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This version of this popular effect was created by Tony Lackner for Eckhard Boettcher based on an idea by Herbert Martin Paufler, first released c. 1982, and re-released c. 1991 and c. 2009. This is the c. 1982 release and it is considered one of the finest versions available. It comes in a nice presentation case (but this was added later and was not part of the original release from Boettcher.)

The routine is easy to do and following the simple steps will create the necessary transformations without issue. The blocks stack well in the tube and the 3D effect for the skeleton is a nice touch, though it would have been nice if the skull was a little larger.

But a great collectible you will enjoy performing and will look great in your collection 🙂

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This precision wooden Deck Vanish is similar, but not the same as Robert Jackson’s popular Impossible Deck Vanish.  The Jackson style is more popular but this Fedko version has its merits and in fact was reproduced by Kelvin Chow in 2019 as the Butterfly Box.

The Fedko box is fairly fragile but it works well and is easy to perform.  Whether you simply make all of the cards vanish, or turn them into something else is left to your imagination.

When vanishing the deck I think it is a nice touch if the card they chose (possibly with a corner torn off for comparison) is left behind to make it seem even more impossible 🙂

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What a lovely and rare vanishing deck variation by the talented craftsman Robert Jackson who created the popular Impossible Deck Vanish and the Zig-Zag Bill.

What makes this vanish different is when the deck disappears instead of having the top attached to the sides you have the top, the bottom, and the sides which can be seen clearly through with absolutely no sign of the deck that was just seen, and it it’s place is a jumble of cut cards. 

It is a subtle difference but for those who are looking closely quite amazing 🙂

This is basically self-working and finely made using: aircraft ply, bass wood, spruce and a little walnut.

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This is the original version of Pikolinus created by Tony Lackner and marketed by Eckhard Boettcher.  Although the later version, Pikolinus II created by Thomas Pohle, looks similar the method for the original is quite different.

The original is probably a little easier to perform, but it is not as flexible as II.  The original can be handed out for brief examination, which you could never do with II. However, you can’t so cleanly show the covers at the end as you can with II.  Though for most performing conditions you can certainly flash the covers and everything will appear fair.

I think the original probably looks cleaner to the spectator because you are not turning the blocks over as much, which might seem a little strange – but it is required for the method to work.

I think it is fair to say Pikolinus II looks prettier, though both are made very well and will last if handled correctly.  Saying which is better overall is quite difficult and I would leave this to the collector to make their own decision.  I do know when I first received Pikolinus II it took a while to get the knack of the moves. Whereas with this version it was a quicker study.  That reason alone might be why some would prefer the original.  However, if you follow my routine for Pikolinus II it pretty much works itself, so the learning curve is diminished.

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