talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect

You bring the crowd in close, then open a small pocket knife. Your hands are otherwise empty. The blade is seen to be normal.

Placing blade on bare flesh, you pierce a fingertip and squeeze out a single drop of blood.

Again, both hands are seen to be completely empty except for the single drop of blood on your fingertip.

You carefully show both sides of a fingertip from your other hand...and slowly press it down onto the drop of blood. You silently wait there for a moment...fingertip to fingertip. You slowly lift one finger...and the drop of blood is gone! In its place, perched on the end of your finger, is a living breathing ladybug!

The creation of life...on the tip of your finger.
Start and finish clean. Practical, easy, real world handling. Resets with another ladybug in 30 seconds. Neither the performer nor ladybug is harmed during the effect! Alternate "non-bug" presentation to transform the drop of blood into a tiny heart. No actual piercing of flesh is required. Optional handling leaves the ladybug sealed inside a clear plastic bag.

Includes custom-engineered knife, carrying case, and instructional DVD. Ladybug resource guide: You can easily obtain enough ladybugs for hundreds of performances. The ladybugs are shipped in a self contained package and require no feeding or care.


Cost

£60 - £70, depending upon supplier.

I ordered mine from www.magicproshop.com, but it's not showing on their pages any more, so I'm guessing they may be sold out there.

Currently available in the UK from World of Magic (http://www.world-of-magic.co.uk/magic.asp?id=17455) for £62.81



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)

Ermmm...not sleights as such, but there are a couple of moves which will take a little practice; I'd rate this a 2-3



Review

For some reason, this is one effect which seems to have slipped under the radar in the UK (possibly something to do with the price-tag ), which is a great shame, as I can see this playing as nothing less than a minor-miracle.

Bear in mind that the impact of this effect will be all the greater due to the fact that it's intended for an intimate performance right underneath the noses of the spectators - they need to be up-close-and-personal due to the fact that your fingertips ARE the stage!

The effect plays EXACTLY as described - there's NO exaggeration in the blurb; the on-lookers really do see you piercing your flesh, coaxing a drop of blood from the puncture....and then see the blood transform into a live ladybird, which you set free (there's no blood left behind afterwards, and your finger is left totally unmarked )

The alternate handling (for those times of the year when ladybirds are hibernating), is to have your drop of blood turn into a heart-shaped 'ruby', which can be given to the spec as a momento; not as strong-an-effect, but still eye-popping in itself

You receive: An instructional DVD, a beautifully gimmicked pen-knife (in it's own leatherette pouch), 3 other gimmicks (which I can't describe here!), a couple of small ladybird bottles, and a nice pouch to keep the entire lot in.

The DVD is very well produced, indeed, and covers multiple presentation options - it's very, VERY thorough (though the soundtrack between segments really grates ).

The only down-side to the DVD is the on-screen tips which occasionally pop-up; they're written in dark red writing on a black background...in a very small font - so small, in fact, that you have to get right up to the TV to read 'em

There's one other, slightly contentious, issue of obtaining a stock of live ladybirds; the 2 websites given on the DVD aren't really feasible for UK residents, due to prohibitive shipping costs.

That said, there ARE several UK websites where you can obtain kits that will enable you to breed your own, along with links to Euro suppliers of larvae/eggs, so I can't see this being too much of an issue.

Overall

Everything here is absolutely wonderfully-made (which you'd expect for the price!), and the gimmicks work like a charm.

Sure, you need to source ladybirds or jewelled hearts (I picked a pack of 20 of these up from eBay for £1.50!), before you can really perform the effect, but it's such a strong jaw-dropper that I don't think owners of this will be too put out

9.5/10 (lost .5 only due to the DVD tips being almost unreadable )

You beat me to it.. Im lazy was goin to do mine today.. so here are muy thoughts..

The knife: It is very well crafted. Looks completely innocent and has other uses than for the effect. It has scissor and a nail file.

The effect itself, I concur that it does play nothing short than a miracle. They see you transform a drop of blood into a living breathing ladybird and there is nothing more for them to see. You set the ladybird free and you end clean.

The only downside I found is sourcing ladybirds which means, yes, as Rob, I will have to breed my own which Im not sure the wife will be chuffed on.

The dvd is well presented, mine didnt actually work all the way through at first then it decided to run the course after about a week. But anyway, the presenter goes into depth about the handlings and Joe Russell gives some tips throughout.

The effects: The only effect that will get the reactions I bought it for is the ladybird version, possibly because you are 'creating life'. The other variations will get reactions, but they are not as strong. There is a simple cut and restored finger, which although, easy enough to execute.. doesnt feel like an effect worthy of my time. The other versions are all nice.. change the blood into a heart or gem.. I may actually use small crystals that I can pick up from Claires accessories ( not that I shop there ) and obviously, the ladybird version.

This is not an effect that will/should be performed everywhere. It is kind of a speciality piece. Because the effect plays out EXACTLY as the blurb says, you really do have a miracle on your hands.

From me 9.5 / 10. my lost half a mark is due to having to breed ladybird lavae

I like this effect, though haven't performed the ladybird version yet due to...yes, you guessed it...the sourcing the damn things themselves.

My dvd didnt work all the way through...yet, ill give it another go later on.

I did the cut and restored finger, and tbh, it is pretty cr@ppy, so im gonna see if i can breed me some bugs

it is a very nice idea, and rather easy to execute.

Though when you say no marks are left on your finger after you make the bug appear, I found that not the case. It may be just my "grip", or my skin in general, but when i squeeze the blood out and wipe it off, I always leave a lil mark there, if you get my drift. Maybe I'm "squeezing" to hard?

hmmm - Gonna have to source me some ladybirds soon...pity me parents arent letting me use the fridge...won't be able to test this baby properly till next year at good ole' University

yeh, I found I was squeezing to much blood out of my finger.. then I realised I only had to let the audience think that..

Joe Russel does have a mark left on his finger in a couple or variations he did.

This must be the most original effect I've seen in a long time. Sounds fascinating.

How easy is it to acquire and keep ladybirds? Like the effect but not sure about stocking bugs in the house!

Also how do you carry the bugs round until performance? Do you just keep them in a little jar or something??

Am very tempted by this!

I hear you can buy a lot of ladybugs (thats what they're called in the US, hence the name) for about 5 bucks, and store them in the fridge. But really, cant you just make them? Why do you have to buy them

because these ones are the magic bred one. artificial insemination from a long lineage of wizard ladie bugs

performed the heart version of this effect for this hot girl and her sister (yeah...thought I would go for both ) when in a cue for the new HP book friday night. Made it look impromptu by having a pocket knife in my pocket which I had "left in there after finishing work"

needless to say they loved it

and to quote:

"smooth"

brilliant.

What I love about Ladybug is that it is not something that you will pull out every gig, it is somethign for those one off special occasions when you really want to pull out the stops!! and it works..

http://www.birdfood.co.uk/products.php? ... &nav_id=49

live lady birds in the uk, but be quick as they only sell them april to august
£20 pluss p&p
they hibernate in the winter so if you buy or make a ladybird house you can save them untill next summer!!

should i buy this trick??? i have serious cups but £80 including ladybirds is a lot of doola

is the ladybird happy being about your person for a prolonged period of time?? i mean most assistants need to eat or they get a bit grumpy and wont let you saw em in half - im sure ladybirds are no different!

I think you could have the ladybug "set-up" for about 8 hours if I remember correctly...

a very snazzy effect it is...go buy it!

ok got it! very well worked out effect, just need my ladybirds now!!

this sounds good and I have been debating it for a while.

two quirks:
1) the price obviously
2) in the previews I've seen, the 'drop of blood' looks like a ladybug itself. comments on videos have just been 'it was a ladybug all along' and the like. How does this come across in person? Does the blood look realistic? Are you able to pull away with the knife, show the blood, then 'transform' it into a lady bug?

you can pull away with the knife, but i wouldn't recomend showing the bloody completely in bright situations - though I have gotten away with it in dimmer situations!