Title: The Trojan Horse
Creator: Steven Himmel
Publisher: Murphy's Magic
MSRP: $ 25
Skill Level: all
DVD Run time: 48 min
Type of effect: card "hiding" utility
Manufacturer's Write Up:
The Trojan Horse is a genius utility playing card gimmick that will allow you to: Transpose a selection, card, bill or billet. Change the face or back of a selected card.
Quick, easy and powerful mentalism routines. Produce currency or small objects! Place a selection, very fairly, in between the two jokers. And with no funny moves the card vanishes only to reappear anywhere you want.
1) Horse of a Different Color (color changing back)
2) A Horse with No Name (Mystery Card)
3) Wells Fargo (Card to Coin Production)
4) Horse Whisperer (Thought of Card Sandwich)
How accurate is the ad copy? I wouldn't really call the fourth trick a "mentalism routine." And no other "routines" were included. Steven recommended that you could use the gaff to hide or swap billets and I suppose that's true, but those examples are left for you to create. Also don't assume that the utility "produces" small objects. All that means is you could use the cards to "cover" items you can already naturally palm (like a coin).
What's in the box? DVD and one gimmick
Key points: With something as simple as one gimmick you'll have an infinite number of tricks at the ready. Saddle up and prepare for the Trojan Horse.
How are the production values: all shot in HD, lots of environments and there is plenty to watch.
Is it well made: I guess. I mean it's made with items you have in your house right now. It's "well made" for what it is, but I wasn't impressed when I opened the box for the first time - and you might not be either. My first reaction was "that's it?" But you warm up to the ideas as you watch the DVD.
Is it well taught: Absolutely, it's evenly paced, and you get both studio and live performances with real spectators. Steven explains all the handlings and sleights involved. In fact, there are some great controls included on this DVD that a beginner could use for the rest of their life.
My thoughts (what I personally liked/disliked):
I liked that Steven included all of the construction of the gimmick With a simple $10 purchase you could easily begin to make more gimmicks for all your favorite designer decks.
Storage? Does it "pack flat?" The gimmick is flat and will fit in your card box. You can see the gimmick in plain sight in the advertisement.
Does it "play big?" With this gimmick you are able to do some crazy tricks with practically zero effort - very minimal sleights involved.
How practical is this in the real world? (can it really be done?) I think so, the gimmick has some "visual clues" as to its construction so those will need to be hidden in performance. It might be better to use this in "darker" light and as an opener where you could move on to more card tricks.
How original is this idea? This is a re-introduction to an old idea. In fact, I did a review back in April of 2015 (Hacked from Brian Kennedy) that uses a very similar gimmick.
Overall score: 8/10
+ If you want to see my full review with even more of my opinions and ideas you can visit this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLopHHcpyZ0
Creator: Steven Himmel
Publisher: Murphy's Magic
MSRP: $ 25
Skill Level: all
DVD Run time: 48 min
Type of effect: card "hiding" utility
Manufacturer's Write Up:
The Trojan Horse is a genius utility playing card gimmick that will allow you to: Transpose a selection, card, bill or billet. Change the face or back of a selected card.
Quick, easy and powerful mentalism routines. Produce currency or small objects! Place a selection, very fairly, in between the two jokers. And with no funny moves the card vanishes only to reappear anywhere you want.
1) Horse of a Different Color (color changing back)
2) A Horse with No Name (Mystery Card)
3) Wells Fargo (Card to Coin Production)
4) Horse Whisperer (Thought of Card Sandwich)
How accurate is the ad copy? I wouldn't really call the fourth trick a "mentalism routine." And no other "routines" were included. Steven recommended that you could use the gaff to hide or swap billets and I suppose that's true, but those examples are left for you to create. Also don't assume that the utility "produces" small objects. All that means is you could use the cards to "cover" items you can already naturally palm (like a coin).
What's in the box? DVD and one gimmick
Key points: With something as simple as one gimmick you'll have an infinite number of tricks at the ready. Saddle up and prepare for the Trojan Horse.
How are the production values: all shot in HD, lots of environments and there is plenty to watch.
Is it well made: I guess. I mean it's made with items you have in your house right now. It's "well made" for what it is, but I wasn't impressed when I opened the box for the first time - and you might not be either. My first reaction was "that's it?" But you warm up to the ideas as you watch the DVD.
Is it well taught: Absolutely, it's evenly paced, and you get both studio and live performances with real spectators. Steven explains all the handlings and sleights involved. In fact, there are some great controls included on this DVD that a beginner could use for the rest of their life.
My thoughts (what I personally liked/disliked):
I liked that Steven included all of the construction of the gimmick With a simple $10 purchase you could easily begin to make more gimmicks for all your favorite designer decks.
Storage? Does it "pack flat?" The gimmick is flat and will fit in your card box. You can see the gimmick in plain sight in the advertisement.
Does it "play big?" With this gimmick you are able to do some crazy tricks with practically zero effort - very minimal sleights involved.
How practical is this in the real world? (can it really be done?) I think so, the gimmick has some "visual clues" as to its construction so those will need to be hidden in performance. It might be better to use this in "darker" light and as an opener where you could move on to more card tricks.
How original is this idea? This is a re-introduction to an old idea. In fact, I did a review back in April of 2015 (Hacked from Brian Kennedy) that uses a very similar gimmick.
Overall score: 8/10
+ If you want to see my full review with even more of my opinions and ideas you can visit this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLopHHcpyZ0
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