I bought this effect about seven years ago from Viking. It is a GREAT effect and easy to do. However, since then the company that makes Lifesavers candy has updated the candy wrapper with new art work, a new font, etc.. As a result, my current version of "Vanishing Lifesavers" is now obsolete. If I buy a new "Vanishing Lifesavers", does anybody know if the prop will have the new-style of candy wrapper? Thanks for your help and comments.

I recently replaced my old version for that precise reason. The new version is a more current label. Lifesavers apparently has a variety of labels and flavors so you may sometimes have to search for it. I buy them by the bunch when I do find them. If needed, I'm sure I could probably cut one from an existing package or contact the company for a sample label.

Dan.

Don't buy a new unit, just take the label (wrapper) off the real life saver candy and glue it on the unit, that's what I did. The label from the real life saver candy is actually slightly longer in length, so you will have to slightly trim both of the red color ends of the label to match the unit.

The circumference is also slightly bigger so you will have to take an exacto knife and slit it down end to end to make it fit properly.

I have performed this effect hundred's of times,using the old gaff and the modern candy in wrapper...no one ever notices ANYTHING awry!Same thing with the different labels on the Neilsen Vanishing Ketchup Bottle and a regular,updated glass restaurant bottle...after the switch is made it is too late for any spectator to make a discernment.I am not saying that spectators are dumb or non-observant...it's just that WE think like Magicians.Best.
Rich

Thanks for the replies! I think it will be just easier to buy a new unit rather than try to cut and paste a new label onto the old prop.

By the way, what do you make appear inside the tube after the Lifesavers have been placed inside? I know the instructions recommend a colored silk. I used to dump out a small pile of sugar and explained that sugar was the main ingredient in Lifesavers anyway. Or I would use the tube as a switching device and have the roll of Lifesavers appear somewhere else. Just curious as to what other magicians use the tube for and what they produce from the tube after the Lifesavers "vanish."

I never put anything inside. I perform for kids so when I put the lid on, I give it to one of the kids to guard. I tell him what ever he does, do not let anyone have any lifesavers. Of course the other kids try to persuade him to open the lid and hand out some lifesavers. Eventually after some fun with all the kids, I tell the boy to open the lid. After they all see it empty, I pull a real pack of lifesavers out of my pocket and hand out some lifesavers for them all.

You somehow think it would be easier, simpler and less expensive to buy a brand new effect (probably not the original, authorized version from Viking, which is the only place you should buy this, not that crap from those other knock-off companies with bad names) than to spend less than a dollar at your local discount store to buy a new pack of Lifesavers candy and cut off the label? Hood, am I missing something? Would it just be easier to buy a new TV that's already set on channel 13 than to get up, find the remote and change the channel from 5 to 13?

Steve

The royalty payments from my natural gas well in western Pennsylvania have skyrocketed this past year. Money is no object. Sorry to be so blunt.

Somehow I can't see anyone with royalties in a natural gas well having hobbies like "wrestling and video games"....sorry. Buy the best, stop buying all the knock-off crap from Magic Makers...buy a "Vanishing Lifesaver" from Viking. In truth, I've been using the same one for 15 years, and, if handled correctly, the size difference in the one you use and the one you hand out at the end of the routine is NEVER noticed. As most beginners do, stop running if nobody's chasing ya. OR...just wrestle 'em to the ground and beat 'em with your video game controller if they catch you.

Steve

Steve, you're a baaad man!

Muhhamed Ali

Thank you to all who have responded with HELPFUL replies to my initial posting. Much appreciated.

You're welcome. How's "Smackdown" going these days....have time to watch between games of Halo 2?

Steve Thomas

Guys there is another option. Make your own labels for the candy. Either scan it and print it out or design a similar label with Illustrator or similar program. Make them 4 or five up and print them out. Go for the 39 cent color copies and cut and paste. You will never have to worry finding the right artwork on the packages.

Richard

Richard,

Great suggestion! This will certainly make my resupplying much simpler.

Thanks,
Dan.

Steve - are you trying to sound like a really bitter jackass, or are you just not good with friendly jesting? Seriously - lighten up.

And if the original maker of the effect makes it with an outdated label and CHOOSES not to update, there's nothing wrong, IMO, of course, with buying someone else’s version. We're not talking about indistinguishable knock-offs. We're talking about a different product.

Nevertheless, we can disagree on that point, but there's no need to be caustic.

It was jesting (who talks like that?), and if you follow the entire thread, you'll see what it means. The young people who come into magic tend to go whatever route with their purchases the internet leads, and that probably won't be directly to the originator of the effect or with whomever has the actual rights to produce said effect. They go with whatever's cheapest. That's wrong. Paul Bernhardt originated the (this is just an example...) idea of the Magic Switchboard using standard bulbs (discounting the 2-bulb versions that used special bulbs and standard sockets), and now Wellington has the rights to create and sell it. Would it be alright if I made one that looks more modern and started selling it just because there's a market for it? If I made it look really MTVish, and the new guys could buy one for $100, instead of the $375 I paid for both of the ones I own, would that make it right?

Am I the only one (besides George Robinson) that understands this concept?

Steve

Strange question... would someone be willing to PM me as to how to get the "shell" free from the tube? I haven't done this illusion and years and for the life of me I can't find the instructions or get It out lol. Thanks in advance if you can help. John

Stick your finger in it then twist and pull straight. George also will supply instruction for his props for $10, postage included. Just call him.

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I am sure George Robinson would supply a new wrapper if he had changed to a new design wrapper, for a few dollars. In some cases, where the item as a special number, he requests that number to make sure you have his product and not a rip off copy.

George has always been very helpful and cooperative when I had a question about one of his products I purchased.

I'm not sure, but I seem to remember that the "new" real candy Lifesavers package is a bit larger than the "original" Lifesavers package, not that anyone would notice if this is the case.

Julie