Andy Martin

The Wenger Tiny Lie Detector was created, designed and constructed by Nick Wenger.  It is sold exclusively by Mike Rose of HardToFindMagic.com and comes with a 34 page booklet filled with ideas for the Lie Detector written by Mike Rose.

If you know anything about the work of Nick Wenger then you’ll know this is a winner too – it is very solidly built and if you ever wanted to do any sort of Lie Detector effect either close-up or on stage, this bad boy will work perfectly.  When turned on it has a green light shining from the end, but the second a lie is told the green changes to red and a loud beep is heard.  All under control of a small key fob sized remote.  This is pretty much perfect.

Click here for more information.

This is a fantastic effect that is easy to do and a great fooler – at first glance it may seem similar to Simon Shaw’s Director’s Cut, but it is very different and you will be more than happy with this method and effect even if you already have Simon Shaw’s. 

Sadly, I overlooked Cinema Vérité when I first purchased it but if you spend just a few minutes learning the method you will have it down and never forget it. Contrary to what you might think there is almost nothing to learn or crib sheets to look at. You could do this blindfolded or even over the telephone.  Now to really do this effect justice you should do two things:

1. Read the expanded instructions that you can obtain from Jim or Stevens Magic, it contains lots of tips and ideas which will make your presentation even better.
2. Over time the more you get to know the movies depicted (many of which you will already know) the more it will add to your performance.  You can still amaze them almost immediately but if you perform this regularly you will probably want to take it to the next level by being more familiar with the movie posters, cast members, basic plot etc.  All of the details are included in the expanded instructions.

Once you have performed it a few times I believe it will quickly become one of your go to effects, and it plays well particularly if you personalize the movies with your own experiences and how they impacted your life.

In the handy pocket size it comes in Classic and Horror. I will sometimes use both in one performance which really fools them because there are so many movies (32 in each set) that it really makes you look like some sort of hard core movie mentalist savant.

Mark Stevens has told me this is one of the top sellers at Stevens Magic and now I understand why.

Click here for more information.

This is a fantastic effect that is easy to do and a great fooler – at first glance it may seem similar to Simon Shaw’s Director’s Cut, but it is very different and you will be more than happy with this method and effect even if you already have Simon Shaw’s. 

Sadly, I overlooked Cinema Vérité when I first purchased it but if you spend just a few minutes learning the method you will have it down and never forget it. Contrary to what you might think there is almost nothing to learn or crib sheets to look at. You could do this blindfolded or even over the telephone.  Now to really do this effect justice you should do two things:

1. Read the expanded instructions that you can obtain from Jim or Stevens Magic, it contains lots of tips and ideas which will make your presentation even better.
2. Over time the more you get to know the movies depicted (many of which you will already know) the more it will add to your performance.  You can still amaze them almost immediately but if you perform this regularly you will probably want to take it to the next level by being more familiar with the movie posters, cast members, basic plot etc.  All of the details are included in the expanded instructions.

Once you have performed it a few times I believe it will quickly become one of your go to effects, and it plays well particularly if you personalize the movies with your own experiences and how they impacted your life.

In the handy pocket size it comes in Classic and Horror. I will sometimes use both in one performance which really fools them because there are so many movies (32 in each set) that it really makes you look like some sort of hard core movie mentalist savant.

Mark Stevens has told me this is one of the top sellers at Stevens Magic and now I understand why.

Click here for more information.

As usual Magic Wagon have no problems creating a beautiful looking prop.  This one seems to have had mixed reactions which I think might be a little unfair based on my first impressions at least. I think the mechanism that makes this work is very clever and works reliably. The fact that you can choose any six symbols and have six outs is pretty neat for sure.  It would be quite easy to expand that number with the right routine. Also you can freely show the device from all sides and even give it to the spectator without fear of them seeing anything, both before and after the work is done.

The problem is that the unit is a little contrived.  It is not a whiteboard, but a whiteboard with a drawer at the bottom – it looks great but may not be that logical.    Also, there are some angle issues when you do the actual work and it is a little tricky to get ready in plain sight.  I think this is another example of a good idea not fully fleshed out. 

I’ve seen it compared to T.A. Waters’ Box Office but the big difference is that although many versions of Box Office have the drawer below where the prediction is, they work because the items are displayed in a box or tray above. If you wanted to make this be very convincing with the whiteboard, the whiteboard would need to be very thin or transparent.

But to be fair with nearly all Magic Wagon items you have to accept the fact that they are going to be creating fairly large, cool looking magical boxes which if you like wooden boxes (as I do) you will love, but if you trying to convince an audience you are performing real magic with, it might be a stretch. But this is pretty much true with any box or prop that is designed for magic – the second you get a way from basic non-prop items such as cards, coins, paper, pens, ropes, etc. there is always going to be more suspicion on the prop. And props that Magic Collector’s and hobbyists like tend to be much more ornate than you really need and Magic Wagon excel and filling that space.  So you end up with props that look kind of large and contrived.  But they are giving the people what they want 🙂

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I love this device!  It works perfectly every time and is a good size for formal close-up and small parlor shows.  The routine gets progressively more amazing and there looks like no sign of trickery.  The device is beautifully made and the switch covers come on and off easily and are attached internally by small magnets so you are unlikely to loose anything in your case.  The routine is also easy to remember and once you have played with it for thirty minutes you’ll be golden!

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I’ve been in love with the Gypsy Thread effect since I first saw it in Sussex, England forty years ago! This is a wonderful take on this effect created by David Levitan and brought to you by the other Englishman, Mark Mason. What a great idea and routine! “In fact, I never had a Yo-Yo, I just had a Yo!” Mark cracks me up! 

The DVD instruction on this by Mark is perfect – he really explains everything so cleanly and clearly that you’ll learn how to do it on the first watching. One of the clearest explanations I have seen for a long time.  Great Job Mark!

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If you love dice effects – and who doesn’t – you will love Steve Drury’s new book 🙂 It is a wonderful treasure trove of ideas, history and effects and at 582 pages it is huge! It is very detailed and thorough and is jam packed with useful information with almost everything to do with dice and taps into related areas such as runes and even mentions Brian Watson’s Sim Stones.  I was immediately able to finally identify some dice that I had long forgotten about here. 

This book is not really aimed at the casual performer but if you want to take your dice effects to the next level there is so much in here to find and use.

• The first part of the book is all about history, etymology, cultural and scientific impacts of Dice and their alternatives – any number of nuggets can be used to amp up your patter and bizarrist stories. 
• Then next part of book is concerned with using dice for divination with sections from Les Cross, Richard Webster and Stephen Ball.
• The next section gets into gambling with dice pretty seriously and Steve includes a very interesting reproduction of H.C. Evans Secret Blue Book (1932) which is a wonderful catalogue detailing all manner of gaffed dice and gambling devices which I found very interesting.
• Then various other types of dice and dice boxes are discussed including: Anverdi’s Mental Die, Magic Wagon’s Crystal Mental Die, Richard Gerlitz’s Oriental Die Box, and the Sure-Shot Dice box, to name just a few.
• In the final sections he details over twenty full-blown routines with dice from an impressive line-up of guest contributors to please every palette.

There is pretty much something for everyone here, and I found it very useful indeed in researching my History Project – in fact I wish I’d read it sooner.  If you want to know anything about dice you’ll probably find it in this wonderful book.  Great job Steve!

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When I first saw Michael Baker’s Zen and Again on his website I was very excited because I thought he had taken Loyd’s Bunko Blocks and added some beautiful boxes with an Oriental theme to create the perfect set for a Bunko Blocks Deluxe effect. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed because Michael does not use the mechanical method with Zen and Again that makes the Bunko Blocks so effective.  In fact, after contacting Michael he had not even heard of Bunko Blocks so was unaware when he created  Zen and Again of the effect or the method created by Loyd c. 1945. Don’t get me wrong Michael’s version does use gimmicked blocks which do work great, but I’m not convinced it is quite close to the real miracle that can be achieved with the Bunko Blocks.

What I did here is to combine both effects: Loyd’s Bunko Blocks  and Michael’s Zen and Again boxes, and now you really do have a wonderful routine and a complete fooler too – a true Bunko Blocks Deluxe 🙂

Michael’s Zen and Again also comes with updated patter, or you can use a variant (updated for modern PC sensibilities) of the original Loyd handing and patter and you have a really perfect miracle that looks the part too!

I do include Michael’s blocks which you can see in the photos.  The Bunko Blocks are larger and the red ones have Chinese characters on them and have these features:

• No Shells.
• Nothing added or taken away.
• Instant Reset.
• No Extra Blocks.
• No Exchange of Blocks.
• No Sleight of Hand, but some practice required to perform smoothly.
• All Blocks are shown on all sides.

The final feature is the key difference.

Michael’s blocks are a littler easier to perform but have more angle issues and you cannot show all sides of the blocks.  When I created both videos I did the Bunko Blocks first then Michael’s and so that video benefited a lot from the practice on the Bunko Blocks, but there is no doubt Michael’s are a easier at first.  However, I was surprised how easy it was to flash something at the wrong time.  Michael’s version has these features:

• No Shells.
• Nothing added or taken away.
• Instant Reset.
• No Extra Blocks.
• No Exchange of Blocks.
• No Sleight of Hand.

Michael’s blocks are also colored on each side whereas the Bunko Blocks have black tops and bottoms – I never ever considered this an issue, until Michael mentioned it. Personally I see no issues with the black tops and bottoms, but Michael does so for some that might also be considered a plus.  In the end you have to decide which you prefer.

The effect is basically the same in either case, and after performing both Speed Demos I’m not sure which one I prefer myself now.  Probably still the Bunko, but it is close.

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This is Supreme Magic’s version of the Jack Hughes’ Teleflash effect c. 1951 and is featured in World of Magic – Vol. 2.

It is one of the nicest effects I’ve seen from Supreme and this copy is in excellent condition even though it is 32 years old. The mechanism Works perfectly with a number of choices on how to activate the mechanism.

• You can make it 100% self-contained using Flash Paper – the flash paper itself triggers the mechanism.
• You operate it by hand your-self.
• You can have your assistant operate it from off stage.

No electronics are required and the card can be handed out as a souvenir or reused as you decide.  It can use your favorite brand of cards too, Poker or Bridge size.

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This clever beauty from Magic Wagon is based upon one of Clarence Miller’s rare and sought after items called The Treasure Chest c. 2001. 

Magic Wagon’s version is compact and works very consistently and handles four chips instead of Clarence’s three half dollars. There are no electronics and reset is instant.  This is a good utility item and  I think would work best as part of a bigger routine utilizing the four chips – instead of just showing the box doing the effect and moving on.

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