Like many, I marveled at Eric Chien's FISM act, and so I was very excited at the prospect of
purchasing one of the gimmicks that made his act famous. Yes, I would get a cool gimmick, but above
all, I was really looking forward to some of his insights in the tutorial. What I received is
technically what is advertised, but for $55, I don't think the value adds up.
First off, in
the box, you get a single gimmick, fairly well-made, as well as materials if you want to make
another similar card.
The included tutorial link doesn't work. As in, it takes you to a
404 page. I had to scrub the forums on another site just to find the link (it's password-protected,
so you can't just stumble upon the actual video).
The tutorial itself is very
disappointing. It's nearly an hour, but that entire hour consists of a brief description of the
gimmick, and then 45 minutes on how to construct a new one. Only at the end does he give some
pointers on presentation, and there's not much beyond discussing lighting and angles.
He
then demonstrates briefly how to activate the gimmick in the hands or on the table, but there is
very little else in terms of how to make practical use of the gimmick. I wasn't necessarily
expecting a ready-made act, but I would have appreciated some more insights into using this in a
performance.
A few more things to consider. This is not appropriate for strolling or
close-up. You will need to manage your audience to a certain degree, and the lighting and angles to
a great degree. This is also very similar to a DIY color change gimmick that Shin Lim described a
while ago, but I do think this one potentially looks less suspect. It should also be said that this
will not allow you to COMPLETELY change the color of the card in full view, so you will still need
to do some sort of move if you want to complete the effect.
All in all, this is a decent
gimmick, and I think it could have some nice utility when added to some of your other routines.
But, for me, it's something I may play with now and then, but I can't see tempting fate by trying to
do this with my audience right on top of me.
13 of 13 magicians found this helpful.
I have seen the tutorial already. Brilliant idea but why do we have to make thw other gimmick/s?
With the price of this trick, all gimmicks should be included and ready to use..
10 of 11 magicians found this helpful.
At $55 might as well wipe your ass with 11 $5 bills! Total garbage. DO NOT PURCHASE!
8 of 9 magicians found this helpful.
I was disappointed with this item for four key reasons:
* The trick itself doesn't hold up
to close scrutiny, the product is very shiny and doesn't 'pass'
* Without giving the trick
away, the mechanism on my gimmick doesn't work and gets stuck
* The video link url in the box
doesn't work, this may be fixed but it's broken at the time of writing, so there is no way of
knowing how to use the effect
* The trick is very expensive anyway, but given the above issues
it was a very poor choice
Penguin magic sell other really great products, I love the site
and service! On this occasion I wish I'd picked something different.
6 of 6 magicians found this helpful.
the gimmick is clever and amazing but there are a lot of issues. 1st - We have to make the other
gimmick 2nd - things needed to build the ither gimmick is not really easy to find. We cant just walk
in at a shop and find it. 3rd - the steps in making the other gimmick. God I have “S” the cards. And
lastly and probably the worst is that the guy on tutorial is speaking chinese. Though there is a
subtitle but it doesnt make sense. The gimmick is hard to makw then we need to look and read the
subtitle Wth. Why didnt Eric just do the tutorial. With this price they should’ve included all the
gimmicks. Am really diaappointed.
5 of 5 magicians found this helpful.
I have always dreamed of doing something like this. It's now here. The gimmick is well made; but
you'll have to keep it safe and in a flat secure place. You receive one gimmick, and there is an
instructional video on how to make a second card.
Yes... there are some "lighting" and "angle"
issues, but for me, this is really something I will have fun playing with... possibly mixing this in
with Blue Illusion and 52 Colors!
5 of 6 magicians found this helpful.
I was disappointed with this item for four key reasons:
* The trick itself doesn't hold up to
close scrutiny, the product is very shiny and doesn't 'pass'
* Without giving the trick away,
the mechanism doesn't work and gets stuck
* The video link url in the box doesn't work, this may
be fixed but it's broken at the time of writing
* The trick is very expensive given the above
limitations
4 of 4 magicians found this helpful.
So, the effect is great! Love it, "IF" the gimmick I received didn't "STICK" rendering the effect
USELESS. It's NOT smooth and I need to modify it.
Disappointed but being a software
engineer and structural and architectural designer with a Civil Engineering degree, there's a BETTER
way to make this and I'll take the extra one, rebuild better, stronger and faster then resubmit for
a redesign of the gimmick. Using PAPER does not a good gimmick make.
1 of 1 magicians found this helpful.