talkmagic.co.uk

Having recently used two different Sucker Die Boxes, I thought they might be worth a comparison.

The first is the classic Sucker Die box
http://www.emagictricks.co.uk/product_i ... ts_id=3471

Cost £52

Effect: ( lifted from above site )

In all magic there is probably no sucker effect to compare with this splendid trick. There are several methods on the market having varied features, but we offer what we believe to be the finest and best outfit for packing the greatest effect.

A hat or other container is placed on your table. A solid wooden die is introduced, also a handsome red box having two compartments and four doors. These four doors are opened and with the audience looking in the front, the die is placed within the box.

With the four doors open, the audience is given a view of the die inside the box. The doors are closed.

The magician now commands the die to leave the box, opening first one side, then the other, showing the box to be empty(?). The audience hears the die slide from one compartment to the other.
After the usual by-play the magician shows the die has vanished and appeared back in the hat or container.



The second the Collectors Die Box
http://www.emagictricks.co.uk/product_i ... ts_id=4637

Cost £60

Effect: ( lifted from site )

Experts call this a "Sucker Die Box", but please don't confuse it with the older version!!

Effect: The yellow dice/block is placed into the box. The doors and sides are opened to show it has vanished...Each unit comes with an extra block that can be used to "reappear" the vanished block.

The difference with this new effect, is that at the end of the effect, the spectators can see through the case in ALL directions. The "die" is 100% vanished!

Ok, having used both I'll make a few observations on the main differences.

I happen to prefer the look of the cheaper model which is a bright glossy red rather than a duller turquoise blue. Of course that's very much a personal choice.

There are a few differences of note.

The cheaper model ( from now on called Sucker as opposed to Collectors ) comes with far inferior instructions, I gave up with them and just figured it out ( not difficult ) unlike the collectors version which has very clear instructions and a routine, which though not to my taste, would work well on younger children. The routine is based around the box being haunted.

The sucker box enables you to show an empty container ie hat and then popping your Die in it, while showing your box, then taking your die out to place in your box and finishing with the box empty and the Die returned to the hat. The Collectors does not allow for this and can only be done by not showing inside the hat/bag. I see this as quite a disadvantage on the collectors version.

The Sucker version has the sound effects of the Die sliding from side to side as you tilt it, again not a feature of the Collectors version and another disadvantage.

Basically those are the two main advantages of the sucker version. Now for the advantages of the Collectors version.

It enables more than just being able to look straight through the box
( front to back ) to see it is empty. Apart from front to back, you can also look from above via doors on the top and by removing a sliding panel on both ends it can also be viewed straight through from either end. It could be argued that if you can view straight through from front to back and see it is empty, then other angles prove nothing new. On the other hand perhaps physiologically a bit more powerful.

It's second advantage is that it is possible while making the die disappear as usual with this box, to make something appear such as a large handful of sweets, maybe an Egg or some such.

It's this advantage that to my mind redeems the collectors version and makes it worth considering instead of the Sucker version. Without this advantage I'd definitely go for the cheaper one, this makes it a harder decision and as of yet I'm not completely decided though tend to favour the original Sucker Die version. I think.

Thanks for that Toad - it never hurts to have some of the classics reviewed - and a comparison between the original and the "pretender to the throne" was very welcome. I must admit that I have looked at both and wondered which was the one I would buy.

I will say though that I got very confused reading it. It sounded like a script by the Marks brothers. (The party of the first part...), and I got very mixed up with regards to which box was being talked about.

I got there in the end though and have taken the liberty of listing your pro's and cons. I hope you don't mind

1. The original Sucker Die Box

• Red and shiny (+) [although mine is green and shiny]
• Uses a Die (+)
• Instructions Poor (-)
• Can be used to vanish the die
• Can make Die Reappear in previously empty location (++)
• You can hear it Slide (+++)

2. The new Fangled Sucker Die Box*

• Blue
• Uses a Yellow Cube
• Instructions Good (+)
• Can be shown completely empty - all the way through (++)
• Can be used to vanish or transpose (+)
• Can make Die Reappear in new location
• You can't hear it Slide (---)

On reading your reveiw I think overall I am glad I have the original, at the time I would have bought the new one - but fortunately I bought a very nice second hand original one at a very reasonable price

The points that spring to mind are that if you don't hear the slide - then where is the sucker aspect to this? When I do this it is the slide noise that makes the audience shout and scream so much, which makes the sucker part so sweet.

The second point is that if you are just making the box reappear somewhere else and not in the originally empty loccation - then you also lose a little of the magic (IMO).

and thirdly, I haven't ried it - but I am pretty sure that I could make a bag of sweets/egg appear in the box with the original. (nice idea - so thanks for that

All in all, I would say I agree with you and am glad I have the original. I am sure this review will have been helpful for many people so thanks.

* Perhaps should just be called a "cube box" as it doesn't have a die, and has a limited sucker effect!

http://www.magicmakers.com/Magicsite/StageMagic/suckdiebox.html
just to muddy the waters there is a third version which i have just recently sold to a certain member , which adresses the situation nicely as it has two doors at the top and two at the front so it can be shown empty before you start by holding it at the front with fingers through the door holes and tipping it forward so they can see all the inside.
this can be done afterwards as well and i usualy go down the line if kids and show it empty which realy confuses them.

also with this version you dont even need to do the hat move which i feel is tacky and a bit obviouse, and as an added bonus you can have some production stuf loaded into the erm ardvark, like a big spotted hankerchief and produce that before the all door reveal, this unit covers both types and adds extras at around the same price as the cheep one, its a bit harder to find as some sites no longer stock it but its out there and worth the investment ohh and it gigs well too as im sure someone will atest too .

ps by the way banana you dont have the origional that has doors front and back you have the improved version which mak do in wood on emagictricks, which is far superior to the origional and you can do the moves of the pretender without the cost see above.

As you may be able to tell from my review, I basically agree with you.

However you can still do the sucker bit. It requires the same tilting, just not quite as obvious without the noise. Still most people will still realise that the tilting would move the die, even without the sound. Maybe some young children might not??? So it's a bit more subtle.

P.S you beat me to the other Sucker box.

i totaly agree but theres nothing nicer than that rsounding clunck .

Wish I would have seen this before my purchase...LOL
I bought the Blue one last week and it had no instructions with it.
I was attempting to figure it out myself while waiting on the instructions to be faxed to me.
I finally started doing the trick upside down to get the sliding affect and kept thinking man does this suck!
After getting the instructions I realized there was no sliding affect anymore and was quite disappointed.
Anyway what I did which seemed to work just fine but involved a little practice and timing was to tilt the box a little more than normal and flicking my finger on the removeable side pieces. Because the pieces have a very slight amount of play they echoed a very audible click (of a die hitting the wall) and continued this several times in each direction.
The trick went as normal and all was well with the missing die being recovered as a small wrapped present under the Christmas tree.
Alls well that ends well I guess.
Have a great holiday to all
Nick Zender-Akron, Ohio

it is posible to make a clunker all you need is a lage penny washer and a oblong plastic dox secured under the base think rattle box.

(Sound of old thread being bumped!!)

I notice there seem to be two styles of SDB, they all have opening front doors but some have opening top doors and the others have opening back doors. Any thoughts as to which is better? Also, as considerable time has passed since these items were reviewed, any more thoughts and tips?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD-eqckXDm4" target="_blank

been musing with using a sounds amazing gadget with a die box for the clunk / ring and then have it fade away for the reveal, the above link demonstrates a new version which to my mind is a through back to the original door flap version and seems to be a tad too large, stage prop size, for my taste but it is customisable.

as I have used both top loaders and through door models I can say to the audience it doesn't really make a difference but with the top loader you can have the die sat on top of the box in jogged so to speak before you show the box empty and everything looks solid, the fact that you put the die in from the behind is covered be by saying the die goes into the box not sneaked behind the box.. see.

Thanks Jason!