talkmagic.co.uk

I've just noticed there's one of these up for auction on ebay, less than 12 hours to go and so far only £78.00. Take a peep at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Zig-Zag-Lady-Illu ... 286.c0.m14

good lord! Sorry, but who ever built that couldnt of read the instructions right.
The main secret to it is teh black paint in the right places.. this one is bright blue. the stars kind of ruin the optical effect too.

It does say that the person built it themselves! The design on the front is right but, as you say, different colours might be a good idea.

daleshrimpton wrote:good lord! Sorry, but who ever built that couldnt of read the instructions right.
The main secret to it is teh black paint in the right places.. this one is bright blue. the stars kind of ruin the optical effect too.

Few that are new to building are familiar with the all so important art of giving a prop the proper finish. That is one thing John Gaughan and several others loved about some of my earlier work; how I could take the ugliest and least deceptive home-made junk and turn it into a thing of reasonable beauty and deception... typically using little other than the right paint and maybe a bit of fabric.

I've been quite spoilt when it comes to this particular effect in that I've used some of the best (and worse) made versions of it going; my favorite being Kirkham's in that it packed down into two small cases (that were rather heavy, but...) and when engaged, the deception was perfect; even up close it seemed that less than four inches (the width of the center up-right) was anywhere near the other two compartments. I seriously loved that prop it was so sweet.

Like the MisMade Lady, most garage mechanics always over-built the Zig Zag and made it considerably larger than it should have been -- small and streamline is your friend with this kind of piece.

"sigh" it's not just the memories of what it was like, it's the loss of so much as the result of natural evolution and time. But I do miss the classics sometimes.

ive just noticed the thinly disguised "s.p" too.
It’s nice to see it has one, but the shiny catch clearly highlights the difference before, and after the shift.

There's another one, indicated to be a Robert Harbin late 1960s early 1970s original, at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Harbin-zig-zag-La ... 7C294%3A50

now, that's nice.

I've always been fascinated with the Zig-Zag lady illusion. I've read so much about it, but yet never made a purchase in it's regard.

When I have the money, Mandrake will you be the 'lady' in the illusion ?

hardik988 wrote:Mandrake will you be the 'lady' in the illusion ?

Yes, but as per my recent confession about being obliged to buy a new, somewhat larger, suit, you may need to reconstruct the illusion on a larger scale. About the size of Tasmania should be OK.....

That's too capacious for my taste

Yes the first one looks a bit overwhelming. Perhaps if the blue was got rid of.
The second must have been built by an owner of the 'Magic of Harbin' Book.
It has the cords, used to fasten the doors, dangling down, the srb's and the extra idea that is missing from many manufactured modelsl.
I was disappointed when my model (arrived (Jack Hughes) as it too was missing 'that bit'.
We used it in place of the Sawing in my Dante Show. On my video tape, a little boy one night,made the audience roar, when he exclaimed aloud , "Mummy you can see right through it".
In the Harbin book he says 'the colouring used in my version is as follows:
Uprights & simulated uprights in black.
Background in mauve.
Figure in yellow, outlined in black.'

They had built me the Table used in the Fu Manchu Pendulum Illusion, so we could saw the lady in half with no cover at all. (seen recently by Shimsha) on America's Got Talent but is now Dividing A Girl Into Three.)
Paul Daniels performed it once with Lily Savage.

As the table was presented to me two weeks before I said 'No thank you, not with 50 other items to worry about in the show' It needed precision working. Stood in, sections, in the Theatre for several years after till it was chopped up for scenery.

Allen Tipton

that'l be the tummy. I love that and laughed out loud when i was told how it worked

No Dale it wasn't the tummy door. That is on every model.
It was a more deceptive part of the illusion.
Can't detail it here.

Allen Tipton

I'm all excited now My friend and I are going down to our local magic shop to try it out and see if he fits in it (I did say he, it's going to be in a comedy routine).

He'll need to take his shoes off Sam. Although you can get comedy biz & gags, out of Zig Zag it is too good an illusion, a mystery, to use purely for Comedy.

Allen Tipton