Hey everyone.

Not certain about the "rules" pertaining to a product review. But I figured I'd take a chance anyway...

MINI FIRE CAGE REVIEW
For $1500 and a ton of shipping charges (don't get me started on this particular aspect), my partner and I recently acquired the "Mini Fire Cage" as advertised on Daytona Magic's web site.

The page shows a couple of photos of the prop as well as a performance video.

OBSERVATION 01
I didn't realize until AFTER the prop arrived and was assembled that the photos and video show two different models.

OBSERVATION 02
The packaging was a solid crate held together with straps. Inside the create, everything was wrapped in a saran wrap kind of material. The box of hardware was practically destroyed. Nuts, bolts, and washers were scattered everywhere within the crate. There was also a small piece of metal - looks like a tab of some sort. It was clearly broken off of something.

OBSERVATION 03
The bolts came in two different lengths and there were way more nuts, bolts and washers than were required. In fact, it's nearly two sets (if not more). If only IKEA would supply extras like this... Also note, the bolts in most cases are WAY TOO long and I will need to either replace them with short bolts or grab the angle grinder with the cut off tool and trim the bolts to length. The bolts attached to the bottom prevent the rollers/casters/wheels from spinning freely.

OBSERVATION 04
No documentation (assembly instructions OR method instructions) were provided. I had to reach out to Daytona Magic and they had to contact the manufacturer and after about 24 hours, I was sent a link to a very low resolution video with spotty Chinese (Mandarin) audio and English subtitles.

OBSERVATION 05
The door/gate latch is slightly off-set and makes it difficult to latch. That broken "tab" was the mechanism to engage the spring loaded lock. The tab is made of cast metal. I used JB Weld to re-attach it. We'll see how this gets along.

OBSERVATION 06
In addition to the broken latch, the door/gate were missing the hinge pins. That's on the to-do list to go buy at the local hardware store.

OBSERVATION 07
The paint for the unit is spotty at best. The front side looks the best. The back side and in various areas around the unit are nicked, scratched, and missing paint. It doesn't look like the unit (metal) was primed before going to paint. I may need to strip the factory paint off and repaint it properly.

OBSERVATION 08
The marketing brochure states the following...

NOTE: I've added letter designators to reference the talking points



I'm going to break this down point by point...

(A) - I agree that this is an eye catching illusion as depicted in the marketing video. The "method" video that was supplied shows the set up and preparation. After setting up the unit and walking through the method a few times with my partner, we have both realized and agree that this illusion requires some thought and much preparation under ideal backdrop and lighting circumstances. I'll discuss more when discussing Talking Point (D).

(B) Yes, it's made of metal. Yes, it's sturdy. NO - IT DOES NOT FOLD for travel. If you want to pack this up for travel, you will need to disassemble the entire unit - every bolt, nut, and washer and hinge pin. Wing nuts might make this task easier.

(C) Minutes? That's a joke! First time assembly without instructions took me over an hour. Now that I know how it all goes together, it should be a snap... but "minutes" is not the term I would use. Once you know where everything goes and which bolt goes where, etc., I suspect you could easily assemble this in about 30 minutes give or take. And YES - One person can assemble this easily. The individual panels are not heavy but they are well made (despite the chipped paint).

(D) I would NOT recommend this being watched from all sides or from above. In fact, the only really good angle is dead-on center from the front. I can't go into too much detail without risking exposure. But I'll just say this... from the sides or from above, the "secret" is more than easy to deduce. Also, what they don't (explicitly) tell you is that you really need a black backdrop with a darkened stage. The video on the marketing page suggests this, but the rest of the marketing brochure suggests otherwise (can be watched from all sides). Very misleading and not very accurate. Also, the special foulard plays a very specific role... unfortunately, the foulard's "special" feature is a bit of a stark contrast (different color than that of the cage) from what it's attempting to obfuscate, so I would not recommend letting the audience get to close as this could potentially reveal the method. Also, the foulard's material is light and it feels like it can snag easily and I've already hit a few "snags" during initial trial runs. Still figuring out the best way to work this out without risk of shredding the foulard.

(E) I suppose it's easy enough. Once it's assembled, it's on rollers/casters/wheels so it glides nicely across smooth surfaces. It's still a bit on the heavy side, so I would recommend two people to lift/carry if necessary. Don't try to do it on your own.

(F) YES - The cage is provided. YES/NO - The torch (if you want to call it that) is nothing more than a stainless steel pipe with some cotton cloth wrapped around one end and secured with some baling wire. I'm certain it will get the job done, but it's not exactly an attractive accessory. I will replace it with a real torch at some point. YES - It comes with a foulard. This foulard is made specifically for THIS prop. You will not be able to use this foulard for anything else. Plus, see my notes for the foulard in Talking Point (D). And finally, the online teaching video... Again, YES/NO. I only received it AFTER sending an email requesting it.

CONCLUSION
I am still on the fence about this product.

I am considering keeping it. I am also considering the option to return to Daytona Magic for credit towards something a bit less "audience sensitive".

Overall, the product is made well (in terms of metal work/fabrication).

The mechanism for the gate latch is cheap and shoddy.

The included nuts, bolts, and washers should really be sourced and provided with the correct lengths and amount required and packaged better.

The included (or lack thereof) hinge pins should certainly be addressed.

The paint - yeah - seriously? Nuff said...

The foulard... The jury is still out on this one. I need to work with it some more. Also, a side note, the foulard has a small hole/tear/rip in it - not intentionally created - looks like it was damaged or caught and ripped. Nothing that can't be sewed, but why is this an issue in the first place?

The method video really needs to be updated and break down the performance better. It should go over angle considerations, etc.

The marketing brochure and marketing video do not align and misinformation is provided about the product.

OVERALL RATING
If I were to give this a star rating (1-10), I would probably put this at a 4-6 based on the observations I've made so far.

VENDOR CONSIDERATIONS
$1500 is a lot of money to spend on something to have it arrive in such less than optimal condition. Also, I did mention shipping charges... I paid the $1500 plus tax. I expected shipping charges, I just didn't expect to be charged more than once for shipping. Seems Daytona Magic doesn't know their shipping charges until an order is placed. I had to pay shipping from overseas to Florida and then from Florida to California. I was also told the items would arrive last week. They didn't arrive until yesterday. Some props are completely MIA. Daytona hasn't given me the tracking numbers despite me having asked on more than one occasion. Daytona Magic has told me it should arrive Monday... We shall see. So far, nothing has arrived on time and I feel like I've been getting a bit of the run-around. Nonetheless, I'm giving Daytona Magic a chance here.

PARTING THOUGHTS
Finding larger stage props of quality with accurate information seems to be a challenge.

Has anyone else run into such issues?

Where does one go to find quality stage illusions?

I'd love to hear from those of you who are performing grand illusions or larger format shows.

Kind regards!

P.S. - Here are photos of the prop I received - nothing here reveals the secret/method.

Hi SoulGrind, welcome to the world of stage illusions. It seems this is the first time you've bought a grand illusion and you've had some surprises. Sorry about your disappointment with this purchase, but believe me it's not as bad as you think. Properly speaking, it's a bad fire cage, sure, but not that bad for $1500 A good fire cage would cost twice or three times that. Don't forget that you get what you pay for, and with illusions this is specially true.

I've been performing stage illusions for a long time, so I'll try to answer you in parts:


First lesson learned, you must discuss with the seller about design. Illusion builders usually have variations in terms of design in the same prop, it is important to specify how yours will be.




You can order your illusions wiht a custom flight case, but just the flight case will usually be more than $1500... Crates are cheaper, but have the kind of problems that you comment.



The truth is that most illusions (and I'm talking about $10000 or $15000 props) come without instructions. Hopefully a home-recorded DVD and handwritten paper, that's all. You have to figure out about assembly and how to use them (or contact the builder directly to to clarify your doubts)



Again, you get what you pay for, a cheap illusion has cheap latches, and a crate don't protect properly



They must have gotten out of their place because of the rattles of the trip, and they have fallen out of the crate. Fortunately this is easy and cheap to replace.



Again, you get what you pay for, $1500 is not much for a prop like this, you're lucky the front side looks good.



The first time I assemble a new illusion it takes usually several hours. The last illusion I bought took me over one hour to decide which was the right way to take the pieces out of the case!



This point really surprises me, I can't imagine why you say this, that shouldn't be a requirement for this illusion. Could you write to me in private and tell me more? A fire cage should not be backdrop-dependent.



Sorry to insist, but you get what you pay for... and besides the problems you mention, I'd bet that it's NOT fire retarded. This is very important for an illusion which involves fire, a cloth and a human trapped inside... I strongly recommend to change it for a good fire retarded cloth.



Sorry but no. It's a lot of money, sure, but is very cheap for a fire cage.



Shipping costs overseas and taxes can be more than the price of the illusion, it's something that should always be kept in mind. It's the day to day of a stage illusionist, we are used to paying large sums of money in this concept.



Hard question for the European illusionists like, me. Easy in the States: You have William Kennedy, Bill Smith, John Gaughan, EDF, Tim Clothier, Wellington, Smoky Mountain...

"Art of..." Good post.

Blair Marshall

@Blair Marshall Thanks!

I'm no stage illusionist but I have dealt with Harry at Daytona Magic in the past and had good experiences overall. Granted this was many years ago when they had quite the Brick and Mortar shop, so I can't speak to how it is now. I will say that at least from your photos it looks like a nice prop, even if it's not the highest quality one out there! Hope it works out for you, I do like seeing this effect performed.

A couple more for the list are Fairchild Magic (Eddie Fairchild) and MagicSax (Thomas Clark).

- Donald

I have never bought a new illusion from anyone but a recognized builder.
A fire cage is a pain because of the fire. I performed mine at Disney once and had to pay $500 for a fireman to stand there with an extinguisher.

My fire cage was about $5,000 and the ATA case was $1,500