talkmagic.co.uk

This is the latest in the Time Machine range from Magic Makers.

Reviews have already been made for the other versions, but I would like to state, for the record, that this model incorporates a slight improvement in the switch, it runs very smoothely, and fast, and keeps time flawlessly.

The black case and the improved mechanism take the watch one step further away from the Argentinian version that the Magic Makers model was based upon. The price varies but check eBay first.

See www.magicmakersinc.com for details.

Overall: 9/10 (performance, price, effect) and a 2 in the skill scale (you need to practice a bit but you can be performing with it the day you receive it).

Well, I am aware of all the controversy and the history of the company.

The legal no man's land between public domain and international copyright infringement is a problem for businesses and lawyers to sort out. But a short trip to the nearest shopping centre is enough to see that the same phenomenon affects us at all levels. All kinds of goods, ranging from food and technology to the clothes we wear, are copied and made abundant at a lower price. We worry about copyright and plagiarism in magic because we love magic and are afraid of what mass production and inferior quality can lead to, yet the same thing happens all over and we barely raise an eyebrow. That's why in my post I review only the product, not the manufacturer. Politics and product reviews just don't mix.

Let's not forget that the TM, in its new incarnation, is an important step away from the original Bazar version, and therefore surely in the right direction. I cannot deny the first version was a direct, perhaps even illegal copy of W&W, and that it should never have happened. But as a consumer I would go for the MM Black Time Machine because it's cheaper, looks better on my wrist and incorporates an improved switch mechanism.

Couldn't agree more, Tom.
With companies like Magic Makers around it's hardly worth the bother of marketing original ideas, only to see the profits go to someone else.
Eventually there will be no more originality on the market, and WE will be the ones to suffer.

The only way to deal with this is to boycott the likes of Magic Makers.

I really don't disagree, but I don't think it's all so straightforward, either. Their product catalogue is growing all the time. Except in a case of outright plagiarism you'd have to trace the history of each magic device sold by Magic Makers (MM) to establish where the designs really came from, and who owns the intellectual copyright. If three companies make the same kind of thing and MM is the cheapest and best-selling, that alone doesn't make them a gang of unethical plagiarists.

If there's one thing that's needed in this field it's a detailed index of all magic props and gaffs showing the country of origin, name of inventor, date and subsequent production history. There'd also need to be some sort of conjurors' lexicon to cope with all the synonyms, as it seems one way of avoiding copyright issues is to change the name and workings of a trick slightly. Does such an index exist?

I wonder whether inventors ever approach MM with new ideas and inventions? With all their resources and financial gain from the last few years I suppose they could invest big-time in the development of new, original props if they wanted to.

Like it or not, the products they sell are generally average to above average quality (in a scale stretching from cheap and tacky joke shop gaffs to precision-made products), and their customer relations is quite good. From the point of view of the retailer, MM offers a good deal on magic products for the beginner and hobbyist. The higher quality and fully functional items they also make (Color Deception, Time Machine, Mystic Chips...) virtually guarantee that they'll be wholesaling to most of the important U.S. retailers for years to come.

MM products are sold all over the world and are the most common tricks on sale in eBay. A general boycott on these products by "in-the-know" magicians is unlikely to have much effect, so the best thing you could hope for nowadays is a change in company policy.

Can someone tell me whether the watch strap is leater or not please

Cheers

Mark

Hi,

The strap is partly a sort of woven material, partly leather-like. Is it leather? From looking at it it's hard to say. My girlfriend says it's plastic, but I don't know. It doesn't smell like leather, yet there's some brown bits coming through the seams. I would say it's leather.

I hope that clears up any doubt you have...

Cheers,

I decided not to go for the black strap, as it most probably wont suit what i will be wearing, as i believe that the black looks slightly gimmicky, compared to the normal brown leather strapped ones, and the metal ones.


Roll on christmas!

Cheers

Mark

I've just purchased the master's version of this (with the metal strap) - and before anyone has ago at me I've only just read the contraversy a few minutes ago... Overall impression is its a nice trick ~ the strap's designed for someone with extremely large wrists so a quick trip to my local jewellers will be in order but the mechanism's sweet, though the mechanism 'starter/stopper' is a little 'noisy' for use too close up yet.

Getting it to stop exactly on the right time can be a little awkward though I'm sure that's just practice...

The switching is an improvement, and the lifetime guarantee is also an improvement. The latter wasn't introduced all that long ago.

It would drive me mad to have it work any faster. The speed is 12x7 - if you have one you should be able to work out what that means.

I like this trick (in whichever version you choose) but it still needs a lot of work. I don't care who finally does it, but it would not take much imagination to improve the whole device. Resetting it is a pain, for example. A memory reset would not be a problem for NASA scientists to solve.

It's also about time someone came up with "101 Tricks With A W&W/TM."