talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect
They say:
"What it enables you to do is to produce any playing card from the deck that you want in an instant. It's application to card magic or mental effects are many and varied.

"Performers familiar with the Q5 Pocket index devised by Patrick Page will know what to expect. The "PLUS" features of our model comprise of a much sturdier construction, from durable plastic film, instead of ordinary board, and an expanding spine feature that makes these more convenient to work with. You get the outfit, complete with instructions and ideas for use. You put in a couple of hours of handling practice, and you have a fountain of miracles in your pockets."

I say:
A nifty prop, based on a long-honoured index celebrated in Corinda's 13 Steps to Mentalism which is a good buy for those with little time/inclination/ability to self-build.

Cost
£8.50


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)
1. Once you've familiarised yourself with the layout, the Q5 is a dream to use.


Review
I know that there'll be those out there who balk at the idea of buying a ready-made set of Q5's when the instructions to build your own are there in glorious black and white in 13 Steps . Indeed that was my first reaction and I did take an initial trip to the stationers, but I have to admit that the index I built was shoddy and fell apart after not enough use. Given that as a dad and teacher my time is at a premium and I didn't want to spend too much of it rebuilding the index every time it fell to bits, I decided to take a punt on this plastic version of the Q5, reasoning that £8.50 wasn't too steep a price.

I'm not going to go on about the uses of the index as there's enough about that elsewhere, but as there's no review on TM I thought it would be useful to comment on the construction of the Q5+ and how it compares to scratch-built models.

The Q5+ is built of plastic card rather than card, which has the benefit of making it thinner, though there is a slight drawback in that the index tabs are also thinner which can sometimes make it a tad fiddly to use. This is, however, easily rectified by use and I was also considering wrapping a little tape around the tabs in order to make them stand out a little more - a very minor criticism.

At the base, rather than being taped and stapled together as per Corinda's instructions, the Q5+ has a flexible spine. This makes sense to me as it does mean the pressure on the spine is a lot less. It also reduces the amount of bending each index has to do and removes the weak spot around the staples which, at least on my own efforts, was the first bit to go.

All in all, there are few major differences between the scratch-built versions and this version of the Q5. Yes, it is thinner, but not so significantly that it has much impact on its use (and of course there is the minor drawback mentioned above). The spine is a more important improvement as it helps with both loading the index in preparation and in locating the card/billet in the pocket.


Overall

If you're happy with your scratchbuilt index then spend the eight-and-a-half quid on something else. This isn't so much of an improvement on older versions that it'll change your life. But if you don't have one and haven't the time/inclination/ability to produce a good one yourself, the price isn't half bad and any Q5 is a brilliant piece of mentalist's kit.

9.5/10

Thank you.

Nice review.

I wonder how it compares to others?

Piers

I have built my own. It took me plenty of hours at first, but if I were to do it now, it will be easy. I used transparent "pad cover thickness" sheets, cut them, stapled and taped. I've edited it slightly so that some indexes are reached even faster than the way the Q5 works.

Neglecting the tape and stapling, it cost me about 1 dollar.

Due to laziness in constructing one, whilst I know there is the pocket index in 13 Steps, I am interested in getting this, as I hear it is durable.

I think the effect of pulling one card out of a pocket is strong, and I can imagine dressing it up as a psychological force (if it does work in any case, at least it is a great means of practicing a force, and there would be the personal private satisfaction of getting a hit)... However, I still reckon, whilst to the spectator there is a layer of impossibility of having 52 cards in your pocket, there is that "too perfect" theory, and having a random playing card in your pocket doesn't seem particularly motivated.

However, having a card INSIDE your wallet DOES seem motivated, and makes the effect much more magical, I think. In terms of pocket fumbling I envisage that it would be difficult to actually get the card into a wallet. I also think having the card appear inside a playing card envelope adds no further layer of impossibility.

I am therefore interested in the Q5, as I think combined with the Wallet Transformer by Cameron Francis, you could create a perfect illusion: the spectator's thought of card seemingly having been kept in your wallet (and could be presented as either a successful psychological force, OR a "lucky card" type presentation).

There is a logistical difficulty to sell this, however; you would need the Q5 index to be in the same pocket as your wallet and, specifically, for the card to be produced from the wallet, and for you to be able to show the wallet empty on both sides as well as both your palms empty. A palm from the other pocket would be under the burning glare of the spectator at the worst possible time, and timing wise you wouldn't have the opportunity to create sufficient misdirection.

Question: can one realistically fit both parts of the Q5 AND wallet in one pocket? Have those who have used the Q5 / other indices found that they need to separate the halves of the Q5 into different pockets? I could probably attempt both halves in one pocket for certain clothing situations, but the majority of me performing magic these days is socially, with limited pocket space. I find a large bulge in my jean highly uncomfortable, especially when sitting down.

Any handling suggestions to achieve this effect whilst factoring in pocket restrictions?

I've always had very good results with the original version of Kolossal Killer, which fits into most normal wallets (but not, unfortunately, the SAW or JOL+!).

Barry

I have Kolossal Killer and also the slimmer Heirloom, and whilst they are great effects, a lot of the time I just like the variety. I used to present KK with the same psychological force presentation. I didn't like the "off by one" element to both effects, however.

Really? In my experience, the 'off by one' reveal is the strongest part of Kolossal Killer. A 'hit' is much less powerful than a 'miss'. Which is what makes KK so exciting.