talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect

Check out the effect by clicking the video link.

http://www.murphysmagic.com/Product.aspx?id=40433

Cost

£150.00 from Mike Danata at http://www.mikedanatasmagicstudio.co.uk

This isn't a stock item and needs to be specially ordered but from ordering to delivery was less than a week - great service!

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

5

Review

It's hard to deny that having watched the demonstration video this is an appealing trick for a stage worker. I've always liked the zig zag and this miniturised version using any can appealed to me as somethng that could be included in my own parlour routine.

It's not cheap but the build quality of the chest is exceptional and the blades are also made of some lovely brished alluminium with wooden handles. The mechanism of pulling out the centre is extremely smooth meaning that the whole method is very clever indeed. The printed instructions are easy to read but unfortunately that's about it.

The effect is of course angle sensitive so it's not suitable for anything close up but for parlour and stage work an expereinced magician shouldn't have much trouble at all with this.

I've not had much time to play around with this but what I can say so far is that it's going to need LOADS of practice! While the method itself is quite easy, it's execution wihtout making any obvious moves is not so easy. I'm hoping that this will improve with time and practice but on this occasion I'm not convinced that this will actually be the case.

Without giving the method away, I find the mechanism fiddly to operate without generating quite a bit of noise made by the metal can rattling against the wooden chest. Again, I'd like to think that practice with the technique will eliminate this over time and I'll update this review from time to time.

Overall

Overall, I'm a little disappointed with the Zig Zag can simply because of the method and technique needed to operate it. I'm not convinced that it's workable in a real performance and this would be a real shame if that's the actual case. It's perhaps a little TOO clever for it's own good.

I will be putting the time and effort into learning this so check back from time to time if it's of interest to you. I'd also be interested in hearing from anyone else who has this and works with it.

It would be a real shame for this to become a magic ornament as it's a genuinely nice routine