In a word, yes. This is such a commercial little trick. The idea is simple – using only your precision chewing you transform a lollipop into the shape of the head of a superhero chosen by your spectator. Bam! What a beautifully simple, straightforward effect.

What’s in the box

The ‘Sweet’ little box (!) contains the fake lollipops you need to perform the trick. They are made of a material which should last for a long time but looks just like a lollipop – and they really do! You also get a link to some online teaching which runs just over half an hour.

In this effect you’re not really paying for the secret but for the nicely made gimmicks which you couldn’t easily make yourself.

The teaching

The video is well shot with jaunty background music. Steve explains everything very clearly and in an orderly way. He teaches several different techniques for the ‘mechanics’ of the effect and also talks about a cool different way of doing it if you want to go to a bit more trouble.

The superhero is forced (you’d guessed that, hadn’t you?!) and he teaches two or three different methods to do that. Unfortunately, they will all require the purchase of some extra things, but none of the extras are hard to get hold of or expensive – I’m just warning you so you know what to expect.

He also discusses the best way to wrap the lolly – since it does look rather odd taking an unwrapped lolly from your pocket!

Our conclusion

This is a great release. It is easy to do, really visual and an engaging and entertaining routine. Superheroes are always topical – but never more so than at the moment. It takes up little pocket space. My only small quibble would be that if you use the wrapper (which looks much better) then it will take some time to reset. However, if you’re going to use it in your walkaround set, why not buy 2 or 3 copies so you have several gimmicks set?

Lolli Hero gets out highest recommendation. It is available from the Merchant of Magic for £33.50 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

TOTM – July 2017 – Steve Rowe – Lolli hero – review

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The post TOTM – July 2017 – Steve Rowe – Lolli hero – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

The effect is simple (and very visual) – you show a card box with a picture of an 8-ball on it – and the ball visually pops out – leaving no picture on the box and a very real 8-ball in your hand.

What do you get

You get a link to an online teaching video which runs just short of 20 minutes. You also get the regular 8-ball, and the cleverly gimmicked card box. Did I mention it is all made up and ready to go? No craft skills required here! The whole thing comes well-packaged in a nice sturdy cardboard box.

What do we think

Appear-8 is very easy to do requiring minimal sleight of hand. Everything is well explained on the video including tips on how to protect the gimmick. It even teaches you how to make a deck holder from gaffer tape!

The effect is extremely visual. The gimmick is nicely-made but you may need to be a little careful of angles. Reset is more or less instantaneous.

What’s not to like?

When I just watched the effect on its own, I have to say my first question was ‘Why?’ Why would you have an 8-ball printed on a card box? Why would you want to produce one? It’s a lovely visual thing but would it stand alone?

However, the more I thought about it the more pluses I could see. There is something wonderfully physical and solid about an 8-ball (it makes a great sound when dropped on the table!) – which makes the effect very surprising. John Bannon has kindly given permission to include an idea from his wonderful Smoke and Mirrors book which suddenly builds the production into a routine and gives it a certain logic.

Big kudos for providing a well-made gimmick which is ready-made – so you can play with it out of the box without needing a black belt in crafting. Oh, and I love the pun in the title. Appear-8 is a great little release, available from Merchant of Magic for £29.50 (at the time of writing).

(with thanks to  BBM and Murphys Magic who both independently supplied a review copy!)

The post Steve Rowe – Appear-8 – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

The routine demonstrated on the DVD starts off as a ‘coincidence’ effect – where your ‘lucky card’, which you have secured in a mint box, matches one chosen and drawn on by the spectator. In fact, it is the spectator’s card which ‘ends up’ in the box which has been in full view all the time.

Like many of the recent variations (Clarity Box, Mystery Solved, 3Sixty) this utilises a clear box which makes the switch look impossibly fair and clean. The killer element here is that there is no heat on the box at all – since it doesn’t look like a magic prop but like an ordinary mint box. It’s that ‘organic’ word again – but rightly so in this case.

You are supplied with a special mint box, gimmicks in red and blue bicycle back, and a spare sticker if you need to refresh your box (or make a new one – and instructions for this are included). And some mints!

The DVD contains a live performance and then all the explanation you need. Liam Montier and Steve Rowe explain every detail of the handling in detail and include a number of little wrinkles which make it even more convincing. It is clear that this is an idea which has been honed in the real world which should be endorsement enough. The DVD includes a section on the Mercury Card fold – which you will probably be unsurprised to realise you will need to do! This is a slightly tricky move and there are some tips on ways to make this easier (including using Jon Allen’s clever idea – Perfect Score).

Other ideas for the gimmick are included – Liam has a ‘nest of boxes’ routine, and a moment’s thought will show that it has numerous applications in mentalism etc. On the subject of mentalism there is a ‘barcode reveal’ on the mint box which seems to me to go somewhat against the philosophy of the trick. The whole idea is that the box should have no attention drawn to it at all – it is, to all intents and purposes, an ordinary box – but to me, having a playing card printed on the label makes it seem more like a gimmick again.

All in all I think this is a fabulous idea. I am a great lover of boxes – and so there is part of me that doesn’t mind the more ‘proppy’ approaches to this routine – however there is something completely disarming about using a mint box – and it would fit so well into almost any strolling or restaurant type setting.

Highly recommended.

Available direct from MoM (with thanks to BBM who kindly provided the review copy) – £23.99 at the time of writing.

The post Steve Rowe’s Mint – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.