Tricks for Beginners.
Ball and Tube Mystery
£12.95 from ://www.emagictricks.co.uk
http://www.emagictricks.co.uk/product_i ... ts_id=2648
The Effect.
The spectators are shown a solid brass tube and a metal ball that is too big to fit into the tube. After examining the tube and ball the spectator passes it back and you offer to show them a little trick.
You rest the ball on the top of the tube and give the ball a gentle blow. Amazingly the ball starts sinking into the tube. You then tell the spectator to watch closely, and the ball starts to rise again until it is seated once more on top of the tube.
The tube and ball can then be handed back out to the spectator for further examination.
Difficulty. 2/5
1=A cat could do it (An Aardvark would still have difficulty though), 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
Fairly easy. I have seen this reviewed online elsewhere with a difficulty level of 1 out of 5, however in my opinion as a novice I would say that it does in fact require a little manipulation at various points and so isn’t quite as easy as some of the other tricks I have reviewed before. I accept however that this could reflect more on me than on the trick itself.
Review.
This is another good looking brass item that is unarguably very well made. I found that it does help though to apply a little wax to make the workings a bit quieter/slicker.
Personally I found that it did require a little more practice than some of the other “open the box and go” magic you can buy, but in saying that there is nothing that a complete novice couldn’t master in a very short time.
There are a few issues with angles but then it isn’t unusual to expect the spectators to be in front of you.
Rating.
Effect/item: 7/10, Quality of goods: 9/10, Value for money: 7/10
Overrall.
It’s not too expensive, but also not as cheap as some and personally I would say that there is better for the money out there, however if you like brass magic then this isn’t a bad little trick.
It is small enough to carry around and requires no setting and resetting as this is all done during the trick.
I would give one word of warning though, when performing to children, be careful when handing it out for examination at the end. So far the adults I have shown it to haven’t been able to work it out, however children don’t always seem to respect the normal laws that apply to these things and I have had one very embarrassing moment when a 9 year old girl gave it a quick look, told me it was "stupid" and then promptly found the gimmick.
The Bottom Line.
Not bad, but in my opinion I think it lacks a little in the "Wow" department.