Thanks again Magiczone and an excellent response.

It's a shame the cube is made of card, instead of a more durable, lightweight plastic as my only concern would be the state of the cube if transported with other items.

I have to say despite Wizard's review and a few other comments on here I'm still tempted by this, as I think I have a nice routine for it. It's a shame the single units will no longer be sold as I'm not sure I want to take the risk on the full price version.

Posted: Oct 26, 2011 1:10pm
I received an email from my magic dealer today and the cube has been dispatched earlier than expected, so I guess that's my mind made up for me. Will feedback here once I'm in a position to review it.

Posted: Nov 1, 2011 7:37am
I’ve received the single version, so my opinion is based on this. I try to only review effects once I’ve had a chance to perform them in front of a live audience, unless the effect is either impractical or unusable. Unfortunately (for the moment) the Magic Cube falls into the latter.

I’m not sure how to review the cube, whether to list the pros and cons, or whether to review each indiviual part, so I’m going to do a bit of both.

PROS
I like the effect, when I’ve got it to work it looks great and fits exactly into my set as I’d hoped it would. It’s also a great idea.

INSTRUCTIONAL DVD
The DVD has been dubbed, which is fine as we can’t expect everyone to speak English. Perhaps subtitles would have been better, as the dubbing takes a bit of getting used to, mainly because Gustavo can still be heard in the background. The dubbing also sounds like someone translating on the fly, rather than working to a script. The sound is also a bit of an issue on the DVD, as the music’s really loud but the spoken parts are quite quiet. The DVD would also benefit from being split into chapters.

The teaching of the effect is fine, though I had to watch the construction stage a few times for it to make sense. Construction was also quite fiddly and I was concerned about damaging the cube during this process but was it fine in the end.

THE CUBE ITSELF
The cube, as has already been discussed, is made of card which I think is a mistake. It doesn’t feel like its built to last and mine has already come apart and required getting the glue out to repair it. Up close it doesn’t look exactly like a real Rubik’s Cube but a few feet away and I think it’ll work just fine. I just wish the manufacturers had made it out of a lightweight plastic - possibly even molded plastic to give it the individual cube ridges - I certainly would have paid extra for a higher quality version and if Gustavo releases one I’ll defintely be buying it.

IN USE
This is where the cube is let down, in my Single Set at least, as it simply doesn’t work. I’m very sorry to say that and hope this is just because my set is one of the faulty singles. At best when the cube pops up you can see it forming, at worst it doesn’t pop up at all. This seems mainly to do with the lack of tension on the supplied rubber bands. I tried fitting two rubber bands, which makes the effect work perfectly and it looked great, unfortunately this created too much tension and had to be removed before it damaged the cube.

CONCLUSION
It’s a real shame the effect is of a poor quality, as it could have been something really special. Is the effect “trash” as Wizard’s review described it? Well not quite, as I like the idea but you could argue a broken, usuable effect does belong in the trash. I’m not too upset with the purchase (only that I can’t use it) and I’d certainly be less satisfied if a replacement wasn’t on its way. Hopefully this will be a working version, it’s nice to get the free upgrade but as I won’t be performing the solving effect, I’d rather have had a working version of the production first time round.

Worryingly when I first contacted my dealer about the issue, they contacted Murphys who said they’d had no reported problems with the effect and didn’t mention the replacement. I’ve since emailed them back with George’s message above and the issue is hopefully on its way to being resolved.

As soon as I’ve received my replacement I’ll update my review. I do have to say it’s a shame a higher quality product wasn’t released, as it is a great idea and I’m sure the reviews would have been very different. I hate writing negative reviews and George seems like a very decent guy and, despite not being a Twister effect, he is trying to correct the issues. Everyone makes mistakes - it’s how you fix them that counts and I hope this is the case in this instance.

I just opened and watched the DVD for his Magic Cube effect.


The Effect:

I like the trick. I don't call it an effect because I believe that this falls into the category of tricks, not effects. It's a great, quick opener trick that can be used as a part of a greater routine. This is a great MC bit. This could be used as a quick trick that you don't make a big deal out of and continue. This could be used in a small kids show.


The Gimmick:

It was simple but effective gimmick. When assembled, it really does look real (from a distance). However, I did have to make a repair and alteration to the "internals" of my gimmick. Based on it's construction I can see many others having to make the same type of repair. If you get one, PM me and I'll tell you what I did so that I will never have to repair the gimmick "internals" again. There is another item that is needed to make it all work but as he states you can find these in many stores (Walmart, CVS, etc). Overtime and use the gimmick will wear and thus may begin to its nature. The only way around that it to create another gimmick made of different material which, will add to the cost of the gimmick. Maybe he could come out with a Pro version. The package I bought actually contains two different gimmicks that allow you to perform two different effects. I don't see myself using the second gimmick. This second gimmick does not require any assembly.


The DVD:

Well, there's no surprise that Gustavo does not speak English. So someone provided a voice-over for the explanation. I understand that it may have cost more money but it would have been better if Gustavo did the performance and another English speaking magician did the explanation. I watch many foreign films with voice-overs but when the voice is out of sync from the video then it is somewhat hard to follow. Still, he explained the effect and a couple of variations very well.


Overall:

I give it a 6 out of 10. Petty and Penn hated it (http://www.worldmagicstore.com/wizard-product-review-p-6929.html?osCsid=l910e22qg1ucs3gugahuehqcq7) but I say, given the right audience, presentation, and venue ... it can be fun.


Watch Out Kiddies!

Quite some time has passed and I'm now in a position to update my review. The replacement cube took a while to get to me from Twister, despite my magic dealer being quite excellent and doing his best to stay on top of it - excellent customer service from Gary at http://freepostmagic.co.uk who I highly recommend.

When Twister Magic/Murphys finally dispatched the cube it was clear the delay had been caused by some design revisions. The new cube seems a little stronger and the coloured panels have been redesigned to look more like a real cube. I still think the cube should have been made out of plastic but full credit to the creators for responding to the feedback and improving the product.

I originally purchased the Single Set but received a free upgrade to the Full Set. In fact I still have both units, so no complaints there and again full credit to Twister Magic. The Full Set enables you to magically solve the cube after production but as this was something I was never going to use, it's an unnecessary extra that can get even in the way when performing.

Production of the cube is a vast improvement on the original batch. It actually pops up now and works as it should. It can also stay flattened in the case for a reasonable length of time, without fear of it not working or slowly forming together. The downside is that it doesn't quite form together tightly enough, which has to be managed by squeezing the cube when you catch it. This may be something an audience member will pick up on but otherwise distance and angles aren't issues for concern.

When producing the cube from a DVD case, it's quite clear how the effect works and I doubt the audience will think it's anything other than a fold-up cube (unless you adopt a slight sideways stance to fool people into thinking it came out of your jacket etc - but why would you do that?), though that's not to say they won't enjoy it or think it's cool. I really like the trick and it's a nice little gag (though it depends on the performance you choose), rather than anything that will get you rapturous applause. I do it, switch and move on. I think it'll work great for kids shows and you may even be able to make more of it for that audience. I however perform in front of adults, many of whom are drunk, so I need to account for this and have even dropped it from my set if I think it's a rough crowd that aren't gonna go for it.

The trick's in my set, I like it and I'm going to continue using it but there's still room for improvement. I'm not convinced the solving part improves on existing methods and personally I preferred it without this. The pop-up however is good so, if you have room for it in your set, this is a worthy purchase. Now if Gustav can iron out the last few bugs and release a plastic version, I genuinely think he'd have a great trick on this hands.

I agree that the set version is a very good upgrade as well and this will work great at a distance. No you can't do this close up and it is not made for close up but from 10 feet or so away is works perfect. Use this as the opener to additional rubiks cube effects. Produce it from the case or magazine show it and put it away and go into another rubiks effect. I totally agree that if this was made of plastic it would be much better and hopefully Mr. Raley will consider this.
Steve