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Mirage Wallet by Mark Mason

PostPosted: Aug 11th, '07, 16:53
by moonbeam


Well I did a search and I can't believe that this hasn't been reviewed yet, so here goes :oops: .

I went to JBMagic in Blackpool yesterday, with every intention of buying a wallet where you need to p*** the card and then load the wallet, etc. I was shown this and just had to get it instead :oops: .


The Effect - The usual - the spec selects a card, signs it if they so wish, then the card is lost in the deck. The mag then introduces a wallet, which has been in full view all the time and opens it up. Inside in full view is a card, paper clipped inside one of the compartments. I can't really say much more for fear of exposure, but the card is removed and is found to be the specs selected/signed card.



Cost Available from https://vault2.secured-url.com/jbtv/des ... asp?id=215 for £25



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)

I'd prob give this a 2. You need to be able to control a card (as with all card-to-wallet effects) but you don't need to p*** and load the card - the wallet does all the dirty work for you :shock: .


Review

Copied from JBMagic's site:
The method is ingenious, the wallet contains a moving part. The retention of seeing the signed card being removed is excellent.

There is no palming, no forcing and the card is actually CLIPPED inside the wallet.

Also you can perform other types of effects i.e. predictions, torn & restored card. etc. This fools everyone including magicians.


I've gotta agree with that last statement as I knew what was going on right up to the last second. Then when he whipped my card out, I was a lil' baffled to say the least :roll: .


Overall
I give this 8/10

My only worry is that if/when the gimmick breaks - it's gonna be quite hard to replace or repair, but it does seem quite sturdy and should hopefully last quite a while :wink: .


PostPosted: Aug 18th, '07, 14:25
by moonbeam
Well I've had this beauty a week now and the reactions I'm getting are quite good :roll: .

I've even had one guy who knows about the basics of card-to-wallet and the usual p***ing of the card that's needed. When I showed him this and opened the wallet (my hands had been nowhere near the wallet up 'til now) and his card was clipped inside, he just freaked lol :oops: . He was screaming, "that better not be my f***ing card". Of course I promptly removed his SIGNED card and he just totally lost it - one of the best reactions I've ever had for a trick (along with WOW by Masuda which I've also recently purchased :wink: ).

Anyone else got this - care to add your two-penneth :?:


PostPosted: Oct 11th, '08, 19:51
by KingJeux.
Everywhere I look this seems to be in the range of 20-25 pounds, which seems fair enough.. but it sells here on penguin for $14; is this the same wallet?

http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1861


PostPosted: Oct 12th, '08, 00:00
by Tenko
From what I've seen, do I take it you have to use Bikes ?


PostPosted: Oct 12th, '08, 02:06
by moonbeam
KingJeux. wrote:Everywhere I look this seems to be in the range of 20-25 pounds, which seems fair enough.. but it sells here on penguin for $14; is this the same wallet?

http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1861


The description is quite vague, but it appears to be the same wallet.


Tenko wrote:From what I've seen, do I take it you have to use Bikes ?


You are correct :shock: .


PostPosted: Oct 14th, '08, 11:32
by AnonymousZC
moonbeam wrote:
Tenko wrote:From what I've seen, do I take it you have to use Bikes ?


You are correct :shock: .


I believe there is a way of using any type of card. But requires setup.
(Trying to be very vague as to not give anything away).


PostPosted: Oct 14th, '08, 21:13
by FRK
how strong is the gimmick, would it last long or could it perish ?


PostPosted: Apr 6th, '10, 17:06
by JD
Can the mirage wallet be used as a normal wallet? What I mean is, is there space for notes and cards etc?


PostPosted: Apr 6th, '10, 18:51
by moonbeam
JD wrote:Can the mirage wallet be used as a normal wallet? What I mean is, is there space for notes and cards etc?


There's space for a few credit cards and there's a compartment that runs the full length of the wallet, capable of holding notes.
The overall size is very similar to the real man's wallet - it looks like a real wallet too, not one of them oversized ones.


PostPosted: Apr 6th, '10, 20:46
by JD
Super! Thanks for that!

Is your gimmick still workin as you were worried about it breaking weren't you?


PostPosted: Apr 6th, '10, 22:34
by moonbeam
JD wrote:Super! Thanks for that!

Is your gimmick still workin as you were worried about it breaking weren't you?

To be honest I don't really use this anymore, I use the real man's wallet, but the gimmick is still okay and I used it quite a few times before deciding to buy the real man's wallet.
By the way, I'm not implying that the real man's wallet is any better than the mirage wallet, it just fits better with my style, etc.


PostPosted: Apr 7th, '10, 10:02
by JD
Is real man's no plam?

Regards


PostPosted: Apr 7th, '10, 18:54
by moonbeam
JD wrote:Is real man's no plam?

Regards

Real Man's Wallet does need the card to be palmed - The Mirage Wallet doesn't.


PostPosted: May 18th, '10, 11:01
by Rob
Hey Moonbeam!!

Soooo...if you don't use yours any more, is there any chance you'd consider selling it?! :wink:


PostPosted: May 20th, '10, 22:24
by Rob
Well - a funny thing must've happened since my last post, 'cause I'm sure I've seen a PayPal logo over the past day or two, and Moonbeam's wallet appears to have fallen through my letterbox today :lol:

Oooh - this is very nice indeed; considering the wallet's now around three years old, it still works beautifully. That said, there were some wear marks to a part of the gaff, and these have now been carefully tidied up with a pen.

As/when the gimmick is too marked to do this again, cards4magic have a very easy solution, which I'll be able to use quite a number of times to sort things out, over and over.

Even - worse case scenario - if the gaff breaks completely (as opposed to just cosmetic wear), I'd guess a brand new one could be added within an hour using materials that would cost less than a couple of quid :D

In terms of reviewing this, I've used it a couple of times (wife and mother) - and both have been highly-astonished...I suspect that their chosen card actually being PAPER-CLIPPED into the wallet really adds to the impact :twisted:

A very sneaky gaff - a classic effect, all with a bare minimum of sleights? This certainly fits the bill on all points there!

9/10 :D


Rob