As a magic manufacturer, I try not to review other items as it could be construed as a conflict of interest by many. And rightfully so. However, I just got an item that really sums up why a guy like myself would get into making their own magic to begin with. Keeping that in mind, here goes with my review of McBride's Candle.

First off, I must admit that I am a big fan of Mr. McBride's work on stage as well as his videos. I owe many of the flourishes I now do in my act to him and his videos. They are very good and he is a very good teacher and thinker. It is for this reason that wile perusing the net one night I decided to get McBride's Candle.

After receipt, I find that while the idea is a sound one and one that is touched on in the Tarbell books as well as others. This prop falls considerably short in its quality and has a slapped together look and feel. I think someone else makes them and the item just carries McBride's name.

I was disappointed to see that what was advertised as a cool and slick candle gimmick with many possibilities, was in fact this:

A piece of PVC irrigation pipe with Tub and Tile caulking squirted down the sides to make for a prop that looks like one from a school play (and not a very good one at that). My 9 year old could have done a better job. The caulking was already peeling off the pipe when I got it!

The gimmick used to get the thing going, if you CAN get it going, is an item you can pick up at any store. Yet, the supplier states that you can get additional refill gimmicks for, in my opinion, a far too high price from your magic dealer. This further insulted my intelligence as it is quite obvious what the item is and where you could get one for far less.

The very poorly done instructions seem to focus on Mr. McBride and his well tuned stage poses with the candle in hand and not really how to overcome the many obstacles in the way of making this thing work.

One is supposed to be able to produce a large silk from the candle as a finish. This is a wonderful idea in theory but after ripping to shreds two of my very nice and expensive silks, I find it impossible to do so, due to the shoddy workmanship inside the candle. I frankly find it hard to believe someone would let this out of the shop, especially with a big name on it like McBride's.

The levitation it claims to do is done by using less than amateurish means. I can't help but think it was an afterthought to add more things the item can do to appeal to consumers.

Another big problem is the bottom keeps falling off the candle as it is engaged!

All in all this thing TANKS! It is sad actually, as it was a sound concept and I am sure the prop Mr. McBride uses in his act is made to work far better. Just another case of slapping an item together to get the money. I do not understand how these companies can pump this stuff out and still stay in business.

It is this kind of "Lazy Quality" in conjunction to a good idea, that caused me to start making my own magic and selling it.

It is not just this one trick that is like this. John Kennedy has a few real tankers as well. The Stir Fry as an example. Great notion, unreliable prop construction. I do admit that John does produce a few very superior items though. But that just tells me he should have known better when it came to putting the tankers together.

So, if you are out there Mr. McBride, the next time you are wanting to hand off one of your nifty ideas for mass production, come see me at http://www.arlenstudio.com . Or Viking or someone else capable of producing a quality prop that will work. I can honestly say that for what this thing sells for, I could have molded a real candle and put together a prop that did so much more in a reliable manner. This thing is quite useless!

This is just my opinion and I realize that I could have just gotten an item that got past the inspectors. I hope?

I always try to see the positive side of things at the end, so let me once again say that this review is in no way how I feel about Mr. McBride and his craft. I think he is one of the bright stars of our industry. He just needs to put a bit more thought into who makes his merchandise from now on.

I too was disappointed, as I was expecting high quality professional caliber piece of apparatus and I feel this candle is a far cry from professional qualiity. I still enjoy Jeff McBride as he is a brilliant performer. I will however think twice before I order anymore of his products.
I'll get off my soapbox now!
Mike - shomemagic -

Add me to the list of people who got "taken in" by a slick description.

His jumbo card fan finale is very well made.

My candle burned up in a small house fire. I didn't mind!!

Thanks for the honest review!