talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect
You have a rod that is speckled with gems on both sides. The audience chooses a number and the number chosen directly relates to a gem. Then, with a wave, both sides turn to that gem that was picked.



Cost
$7-15


Difficulty
3/5
One sleight used, very easy to master.



Review
The Hot Rod is a bar that is a real eye catcher. This is a spinoff of the knife changing color trick (don't know exact name). To manipulate the Hot Rod is very simple. Takes about 10 minutes to learn and the effect is amazing.

The only problem is, is that you might want to get multiples of this product. The knife trick could be used multiple times though. Only one use per person for the Hot Rod.


Overall
Great effect

Only one use per person

8/10

Yet another classic of magic which is rarely seen or discussed these days. It sometimes turns up in the cheapo magic sets mass produced at minimal cost but, in this case, the rods are often of good enough quality to be worthy of using in performance.

I like p----e tricks generally, butI've hardly used my hot rod, because it needs some very artificial verbal handling.

Barry

hotrods are genius...lots of magic, very close up and visual, the moves involved, the vanishes and so on are excellent...very overlooked...

if ever you find yourself at a bar and have one on you, whip it out and stir your drink with it (hey, it wont kill you), tap it against your glass to get someone's attention then just vanish it, then colour change it, and vanish again and walk off....

if you wanted to get round the verbals and you were at a table, you could have a little stack of business cards with the colours written on it, and just force it...same with the number too...or a loaded die...

I like the hot rod as it is visual and entertaining but I think that the method of choosing the colour comes across as suspicious and is often worked out by the spectators.

A nice effect but not recommended for any serious magician.

There are a few new Hotrods out there where the force is very well hidden. Admittedly there are expensive, but it is a nice piece of magic when it's THAT clean and direct.

Definitly a classic...I always have a Hot Rod on me at shows to show the 'little ones.' They absolutely love it.
I can remember getting mine at Davenports about 5 years ago!

Tyler.

Ah...the classic Hot Rod. My very first magic trick, hehe. good times, good times...

Anyways, great review! Very informative.

...one of mine too! Although I didn't have the weird force one, I had the jumping gem version ie. one red crystal, 3 white, red changes place. I bought it after being impressed by a close-up magician who performed at my 16th birthday party with the same.

One problem I have with it is the "jump" between 2nd and "3rd" place on the stick... if anyone has any good moves, PM me!

A little history. Hot rod was originally invented by Marvillo (Arnold Liebertz) of West Germany and European rights were given to Magictrix House of Magic Stoke-on-Trent; who demonstrated it for many years at magical conventions. Marvillo called it Bomba Stick; and he made the original ones by hand as he did all his magic.

Since then there have been many versions; my favourite being the Hot Rod Pen.

Several people confuse Bomba Stick (Hot Rod) with other effects such as jumping spots; etc.

The original had seven spots and when receiving the chosen number you covered a spot at either end so; that any number could be freely counted too.

However, later models had just six spots and the false count was then introduced where required.

The spelling of one or six was covered in the following manner: " I am going to show you my favourite magic spell; please give me a number between one and six!" Lets say 6 was chosen. "You want the number six - do you wish to change your mind - no - very well as I said this is a magic spell and we have to spell six S. I. X, you have landed on RED - that's the spelling bit done; but now we come to the magic bit; all the stones have magically changed to the chosen colour RED!"

I still use this when table hopping but make a point of never showing any trick (including this one) until I am three tables away. I always finish at each table by making a balloon flower in a different colour; red yellow and blue. These I then stand as a centre piece on each table.

I have three basic routines that correspond in my mind to each colour; so if I need to go back to a table I know from the coloured flower which routine I have previously performed for that group.

Thanks for the info Eddie!

Another way to do it is to show the Hot Rod all red and ask a spectator to name any colour i.e green then ask another, then another until you have a few different colours then do the move to show different colors have appeared on the HR.

Razzo.

The coloured ballons as a reminder on the tables is genius.

Brovo sir.

Steve