What is it?

Burn Notice promises to “take the strongest elements of the mystery box and blend them with an organic every day object that everyone is familiar with: a simple match box.” If I’m honest I’m not even sure what that means. The ‘elements’ of the mystery box plot are a chosen card being found in a box which has been on display from the start of the effect. And that is what you have here.

There have been a whole raft of these kinds of effect over recent years – Mystery Solved, The Box, Cell, Paragon 3D, or if you’re really flush, Destination Box – to name just a few that spring to mind. So this is a well-worn path.

Burn Notice’s great strength is that (perhaps matched only by Mint) the use of a matchbox is totally ‘organic’ – it carries little or no suspicion which means the gimmick is hidden in plain sight.

Not so hot?

To my mind, despite that significant strength, this release disappoints somewhat. On the plus side the gimmick comes ready-made – so no craft skills are needed unless you want to repair the gimmick or make a variation of it. And you are given a generous set of ‘supplies’ to enable you to make or repair several gimmicks.

However, I found the supplied matchbox (tray) somewhat flimsy and in practise my gimmick was slightly liable to stick. It could be that would loosen up with more use, but it didn’t fill me with a great deal of confidence. And the ‘speed’ of the gimmick means that a fair bit of cover is necessary for the switch. It’s a simple and neat idea – but the execution is a little lacking for me.

The teaching was also very skimpy. You’re provided with a link to an online tutorial which runs for under 12 minutes, of which a fair bit is on making/changing the gimmick. There are no spoken words, so instructions are mainly ‘mimed’. The necessary sleights (controlling a card to the top, mercury card fold) are either not taught or simply demonstrated once – so this wouldn’t be suitable for someone with little basic card magic understanding.

Variations on a theme

On the plus side the concept and gimmick are easily modified – and I can see this having some more applications in mentalism, for example. The box could be used to switch a prediction very easily. And if you can’t do a mercury card fold (and you’re unlikely to be able to learn it from this release!) he does provide a couple of alternatives where you don’t need to use it. However, the trick is immeasurably stronger if you can do it.

So all in all I find myself underwhelmed by Burn Notice. It doesn’t really quite live up to its promise. In fact, on the same day I watched the tutorial for this effect I saw a friend perform an older release – Inferno (no longer available standalone but you can learn the effect on this DVD). Although the effect is slightly different – in this instance a merely thought of card appears in a matchbox which has been in the spectator’s possession throughout – it retains much of the strength of Burn Notice without some of the weaknesses.

But then again, it does come in very nice packaging…

Burn Notice is available from the Merchant of Magic for £23.99 (at the time of writing).

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

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There have been a number of vanishing card case effects released in the last few years. Their popularity is obvious – what better or more visual way to start a card routine than to have the box disappear? From the trailer, the visuals on this looked spectacular – so how did the reality measure up?

What do you get?

A DVD and all the materials you need to construct your own gimmick. And there’s the first and really important thing you need to know if you’re considering buying Unboxing. It is quite an intensive craft project to make your gimmick. In fact, I would say you need to be a bit of a craft ninja – since there is precise cutting, glueing and sticking involved, some of it a little fiddly. You’re provided with most of the necessary bits, though you will also need a couple of extra cards you will probably already have lying around.

We’re not done on construction yet. The explanation takes about 20 minutes on the DVD – I say explanation, but it is a silent video (well there is some background music) with no verbal instructions apart from the odd sentence on screen. So I think you’re going to need a lot longer than this to check you’re doing the right things and get the bits together. And did I mention, it’s quite fiddly.

I also think the advert video is slightly misleading. It shows a move which isn’t possible with the main gimmick but requires the construction of a second (much easier) gimmick.

On the plus side

Once you’ve constructed the gimmick, the effect itself is self-working and very visual. Depending on how good your craft skills are, this may be more or less convincing. Even on the teaching videos there are some ‘flashes’ which expose the gimmick. In the real world, if you keep things moving, this shouldn’t be a problem – and some of the live performances show the strength of reactions possible.

On and on

I found the rest of the DVD rather tiresome. They go into a slightly laboured amount of explanation about how to set up and clean up. I couldn’t decide whether to feel patronised or thankful for the endless detail on presentation and minor variations – not far short of an hour!

The credits section is not really a proper set of credits but rather a short history of versions of this kind of effect – without attributing particular inspirations, and more importantly failing to include a number of modern versions.

If I’m honest, I feel like this is on the one hand over-engineered, and then alarmingly reliant on our own construction. If it was over-engineered and professionally built, I might be less concerned, or less complex and self-constructed – but this feels like a worrying combination – and I would have some concerns about the gimmick in operation. I understand that providing an assembled gimmick would have massively impacted the price, and perhaps I’m just not crafty enough, but for me this is a concern.

It feels a bit like the desire for the amazing visual has over-run itself. And I think I would be happier using the lower tech, but not much less visual and substantially easier to assemble Travelling Deck 2.0 (see our review here).

Unboxing is available from MagicShop.co.uk for £17.50 at the time of writing.

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

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Essentially you get an extra gimmick – which enables you not just to make the deck of cards vanish (like version 1) but also the card case. It is a logical development (rather than a radical new idea) – but a useful one for sure, which increases your possibilities enormously.

Like the original DVD this one features a range of different routines using the gimmick. There are some strong effects here – and for my money it is much stronger for the vanish to be part of a routine rather than a one off effect. It can give you cover in the ‘get ready’ and makes the vanish even more impressive if the spectator has already handled the cards a little. I may be in a minority of one here because Costas insists that he uses it as a standalone effect.

In terms of pure ‘logic’ I like the sandwich type ideas best – because then there is a rationale for a card (or in this case several) being left behind. Maybe I am over-thinking this – but if you can vanish a deck of cards, why would you leave one behind?! All this being said – Chris Webb has a very clever solution for a complete vanish which you could use in certain circumstances.

The DVD teaches a number of different vanishes and also has sections on repairing the gimmick or changing the face/back if you want to use a specific value or back design. And you get some special stuff for you to make up a second gimmick if you need/want to – though the gimmick should last a reasonable amount of time.

Chris Webb does most of the explanation and is very clear without being patronising. He has lots of extra ideas and Costas adds his own tips as someone who has clearly used the effect lots. If you’ve already got version 1, I’m not certain you would make the upgrade (unless you really wanted the box vanish). But on the other hand it’s not a large investment and would provide you with some more ideas and a new gimmick.

Well worth a look.

Available direct from Merchant of Magic – £17.99 [with thanks to MagicTao who kindly supplied a review copy of the Travelling Deck 2.0]

The post Travelling Deck 2.0 – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

It was obvious from the first time I heard Costas (the very nice proprietor of MagicTao) talk about the Travelling Deck that he was very proud of it. And they have certainly done an excellent job on producing and presenting this effect. The slim package has an attractively designed cover and contains a DVD and the gimmick. In my book there is a point lost for no written instructions – but then I’m a bit of a luddite and video is the world we live in. Positively there is no annoying music on the DVD (!) and it has a nice clear and easy to use menu.

There has been some debate on the forums etc. about some similarity to Angelo Carbone’s Humbug. I haven’t seen that particular effect, but he’s apparently given the thumbs up to Travelling Deck – and there is even a comment on the DVD to that effect.

The DVD mainly features Costas talking about and demonstrating the gimmick. It contains lots of tips on care and maintenance of the gimmick and also explains how to change the face or back of the gimmick to match your deck of choice. The package also comes with some ‘special something’ to help you make/repair a gimmick.

A number of different vanishes are explained, including a ‘one-handed’ version which actually feels slightly more natural than the way Costas prefers to perform it.

Takel – the inventor – originally conceived the effect as a travelling deck routine – the deck is removed from the card box – vanishes, leaving only a joker in its place and is found to have returned to the card box. This is performed and explained in separate sections.

A number of variations on the gimmick are suggested. Two of these – the vanishing stack of business cards and the deck of cards to bank note are true variations. It is a bit cheeky to call the third – deck of cards to 52on1 card –a variation, but it does make for a cheesy gag!

To get your imagination going there are also a number of routines which make use of the gimmick. I won’t go in to detail on them all – but there is a sandwich routine, a deck through table routine, a routine involving two chosen and signed cards, and even using the deck for an ‘8 ball’ type effect/gag. I was pleasantly surprised to see these extra ideas on the DVD – and it helps show that this is a little more than a one trick pony.

The gimmick itself is well made on Bicycle stock and I think looks good/works well. The wife was impressed after only a short amount of playing around with the effect! A little practise is required to ‘get into position’ beforehand, but it is not difficult. Alternatively, it could make a good opener as you approach a table. As with most effects of this kind the gimmick is a little bit angle-sensitive. But it looks very clean afterwards.

All in all a good addition to the range of vanishing decks available. And in my opinion very reasonably priced at £15.99. Exclusively available at MagicTao.

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