Monsta Bertha Kit - Full Review

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Monsta Bertha Kit - Full Review

Postby I.D » Nov 15th, '06, 00:31



Monster Bertha Package

Available from http://www.nothingupmysleeve.co.uk/

Price: £55.00

Close up card magic, Pk effects, Mentalism

Difficulty:1-3 out of 5 ( depending on what you plan to acheive )

They say:

"MONSTER BERTHA" Over 4300 Gauss strength, top grade rare earth magnet. DON'T THINK THIS IS YOUR AVERAGE MAGNET... at this size and strenght, this is far more powerful than most similar sized block magnet out there. So much so, they are shipped in 2 inches of bubblewrap in a plastic block!

Prepare for the big one! A mighty 2" x 2" x 1" slab of rare earth industrial grade magnet!

She's mean, lean and oh-so clingy... She's powerful enough to pull fillings out of teeth, or nails out your floorboards! (A little exaggeration? Well, at least we tell a good tale!)

MONSTER Bertha can easily hold 2 decks of cards to the fridge. And shes' strong enough to move quite big objects across tablesólike a piggy bank full of 2p coins! In fact, once you've introduced her near a metalic ferrous object, you'll notice her strange and yet undeniable attraction. This one carries a health warning!

Can be easily strapped to your wrist or worn in clothing to perform odd PK impromtu magic! Imagine being able to balance a 2p on top of a 1p without even TOUCHING the magnet!

I say:

Well I have been playingaround with this for about a week now and I must say I am overly impressed. The possibilities with the Monster Bertha are amazing! There is so much is the Monster Bertha Package you have all you need to perform a vast array of PK effects. Ill break down what you actually get first.

1. The Monster (2"x2"x1" High Grade Nickel plated Neo— 1/2 inch thicker than the M5!)

This is HUGE.. its Heavy.. Its one mother of a brick.. but behind its bulky exterior lies the most powerful gimmick in your arsenal.. 4300 gauss strength pk attraction!!

By itself it does wonders.. you can use the Monster for vanishes.. its not as clean as the raven but it gets the job done. But this Giant wasnt built to vanish 10 pence pieces!! We'll get to this shortly

2. 10 magnets! Yes! 10 magnets, ranging from 1mm x 1mm cubes to a 1"square flat one! Even some 'rod' magnets for gaffing pencils and pens)

10 is plenty!! Gaff pens, pencils, matches, cards, sausages, sponge balls, ice cream, dishclothes, stamps, a dead spider ( resurrect the dead ).. there are so many uses to put these too its crazy!! your imagination will open uponce you start playing around with these.

My wife killed a spider a few nights ago and when I cam home from work she wanted rid. I told her she hadnt killed it properly and put it on my hand..it started to wiggle and shake. She freaked!!

3. A TT, + instructions to gaff it.. this has plenty of uses... your imagination will fill the gaps here

4. Shimming materials, including 2" of shim sheet and small metal rods.. Not a whole lot.. but enough.. You can re-use your shim sheet anyway!!

5. A lump of plasticine.. for one of the effects in GETFLUXED

6. A shimmed match IN A SPECIALLY GAFFED MATCHBOX!!! This is quality.. I actually have the spectator choose the match.. ( my own handling on this :wink: ) the match moves voodoo like on the specs hand.. amazing reactions!!

7. A gaffed Sharpie (with an N42 pre-installed!) :lol: Ask the spec to take the pen and sign the card.. As they do.. they jump back when it begins to move by itself!!

8. Get Fluxed: Size Matters—a 10 page pdf booklet, with 5 tricks and a bunch of information on how to shim, gaff and more. Beautifully illustrated book with 5 sweet routines..

1. Stop a specs watch dead flat.. then stop you own pulse!!
2. Little Billy's Sad Ending: a sad little tale of a sad little boy
3. Birodancer: magic in the spectator's own hand is always amazing
4. Mr Neo: blood has iron in it, but the magician's blood has MAGNETS in it!
5. Phantazm: ever had a dream that you can move things with your mind?

These are all great routines.. I wont go into detail as GETFLUXED: Size Matters is sold on NUMS seperately.. If you happen to have the M5 already I would suggest getting this anyway for some great routines!!

9. A WRIST STRAP.. A solid wrist strap though I personally will get/make my own as it seems a little tight for my wrist.. does a great job though.. can be altered to be more 'secure'!!

10. Instructions how to construct a knee strap. As said!!


Overall:

If you dont currently own any thing like this, then get this!! This is the most comprehensive package I have received to date.. essentially one trick? No.. Oh no!! Theres so much you can do with the Monster.. I could write for hours about the different effects you can do with this.. you are limited only by your imagination!!
This is my first venture into the PK world.. well I lie.. I have the Raven.. but this has so much more applications than the raven it doesnt even compare!! With the Monster.. its all about the storyline.. the performance.. the audience participation.. the effects are easy and the Monster gives you the opportunity to create a magical world for the spectator to get sucked into.. a story to latch onto.. a hook to be caught on.. then when you reel them in.. the Monster effortlessy performs the magic for you!! The Audience is drawn in.. these kind of effects really spins them out!!

In short, the Monster was designed to create effects that have a mentalism, mind reading kind of feel, both visual eye candy and also a voodoo type feel!!

Enough said.. Seriously.. if you have an M5, Mega Bertha or anything else.. I would still recommend getting this package for the vast amount packed into it!

Value : 10/10
Effects: 10/10

Total : 10/10

I really dont have anything bad to say except it is bloody huge and it performs effects that will leave spectators so fried they might need medical help!!.. hhmm.. that's still a good thing in my book!! 8)

CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS CUPS

www.youtube.com/brum2redmagic !! Youtube Project started.. early days

Reading: Nothing right now
Studying: loving band redemption
Performing: Speechless, Stand up Monte, Coinvexed,
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Postby johntheblob » Nov 15th, '06, 04:06

CUPS!


Awesome review. I will be buying this ASAP!

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Postby Vinnie » Nov 15th, '06, 04:40

johntheblob wrote:CUPS!


Awesome review. I will be buying this ASAP!


i second that.

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Postby Alakazam » Nov 15th, '06, 19:39

I.D. wrote:
My wife killed a spider a few nights ago and when I cam home from work she wanted rid. I told her she hadnt killed it properly and put it on my hand..it started to wiggle and shake. She freaked!!

Newbie question: How does a magnet get a dead spider to start moving....? Do you 'treat' the spider before or is the magnet that strong..??[/b]

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Postby Delude » Nov 15th, '06, 20:04

Lol. A magnet can't just make anyhting move. Imagine the havoc as people walk into shops and attract shoes to them. THink about how you could 'make' somehting move with a magnet. :wink:

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Postby Part-Timer » Nov 15th, '06, 23:11

I've been considering something like this for a while. Looks like I might have found what I'm after.

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Postby Mahoney » Nov 16th, '06, 00:00

FYI there is another review thread here:
http://talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic11336.php

...just incase you need more convincing. :wink:

Andrew
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Postby I.D » Nov 17th, '06, 12:52

I take it no one likes my review :cry:

I tried to hard aswell as not one person replied to my last review..

oh well.. I still like the Bertha..

:wink:

www.youtube.com/brum2redmagic !! Youtube Project started.. early days

Reading: Nothing right now
Studying: loving band redemption
Performing: Speechless, Stand up Monte, Coinvexed,
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Postby Mandrake » Nov 17th, '06, 13:48

It's strange, sometimes Reviews just don't get answers or direct responses - especially if everything's been covered so well as you did above. I had the kit ages ago and am still playing with it because it's so much fun :D !

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Postby Mahoney » Nov 17th, '06, 14:10

I.D wrote:I take it no one likes my review :cry:

I tried to hard aswell as not one person replied to my last review..

oh well.. I still like the Bertha..

:wink:


It was a nice review but I guess most people have left their comments on the original thread.

I'ts a great package really though isn't it!

Andrew
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Postby seige » Nov 17th, '06, 14:16

Sorry, I just had to share this tale, it's not a 'plug' at all...

The Bertha package ships in a cardboard box, about 8"x8"x6"

Yesterday, I packaged 3 Berthas up. Bear in mind, each Monster is wrapped in about 3 inches of bubble wrap, which is then placed in a bed of polystyrene 'popcorn' inside the box, in an attempt to keep them safely enclosed away from other objects.

However, when placing the parcels on a table ready for shipping, the three boxes moved apart! The force between them was enough to 'talk' to each other and push/pull. Was quite a hilarious moment, wish I'd have video'd it as it looked like the boxes were alive!

It has to be the singlemost LARGEST item demonstration I've seen with these... except for when I proved to my younger brother that the Monster was strong enough to couple garden equipment to the wall, and demonstrated by hanging two spades from one!

The dangerous thing is keeping these away from each other. Currently I have 9 in stock, and this isn't an exaggeration (anyone with Skype and a Webcam is welcome to view this) but I have to wrap each one in bubblewrap and keep them in different places around the house in case they 'meet', as it would be near-impossible to get them apart.

Anyway, enough said ;)

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Postby Misanthropy » Nov 17th, '06, 16:37

I'm tempted to order one but after hearing all the horror stories about magnets and computers and televisions breaking I wonder if its safe having it in the same room as them.

"Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken"
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Postby seige » Nov 17th, '06, 16:56

If it helps:

I have a rather small office, about 19ft by 20ft, and in here I have...

1. £3500 worth of Apple computer
2. £900 worth of PC
3. 3 LCD monitors
4. 1 LCD TV
5. 1 x Analogue black and white TV monitor
6. 2 Printers
7. 1 x iSight webcam
8. 1 x Streamium wireless media streamer
9. 2 x digital cameras, Fuji S2 and Fuji Z10
10. 8 Firewire external hard drives
11. 1 x digital video camera

etc
etc
etc

Oh, and 9 Monster Berthas.

:D

And over 9 months, I've never had a single problem with them. NONE of the devices have ever suffered adverse effects, as most items are magnetically shielded. You CAN distort an old CRT television, but it's a temporary distortion and is harmless if you don't get the magnet too close to the screen.

I'd also imagine that if I put the Bertha inside a computer, there'd be problems—but then again, so would a glass of water—see what I am saying?

But trust me, it's all quite safe if you're sensible. As with anything of a potentially damaging nature, if you use your common sense, all will be fine.

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Postby k88 » Nov 17th, '06, 17:05

:shock: :o

I'm so jealous of your office! :lol:

Yeah it does do "damage" but only temporary. Makes pretty colours too on old LCD moitors... :wink: [But still don't do it..]

And it seriously did nearly break my phone, it froze it, I couldn't even turn it off! I had to take the battery out, then turn it back on.

K

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Postby seige » Nov 17th, '06, 17:23

k88 wrote:And it seriously did nearly break my phone, it froze it, I couldn't even turn it off! I had to take the battery out, then turn it back on.

K


Some mobiles, especially flip phones, have a magnetic switch to detect the phone is open. A big magnet can freeze the phone temporarily, but there's no permanent damage cause.

I can't see it having any effect on other phones though!

Last edited by seige on Nov 20th, '06, 13:21, edited 1 time in total.
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