I just received a great and special Tenyo yesterday: the ‘Big Mac Cubio’! I’m really stoked about it—despite having a very similar Cubio trick already. ‘Big Mac Cubio’ is extremely hard to find, and now its sitting in my Children’s Hospital routine case. Expect a review on it next week—despite me having already done the review for ‘Super Cubio’ not too long ago. And then I’m acquiring a couple more Tenyo, so expect reviews on those next. Namely, ‘Shrinking Pen’ & ‘Illusion Truck’. I’m also in the middle of releasing a second card flourish for the Wire and trying to get ready for yet another move. It’s getting busy and crazy in my neck of the woods. So let’s get crazy by doing a review of another Tenyo, shall we?
BURGLAR BALL
Inventor: Shigeru Sugawara
Year: 1994
Cost: $8-$15
Type of Effect: 1st effect: Penetration
Skill Level: Intermediate
CONTENTS:
- 1 Clear Box
- 1 Clear Lid
- Red Chrome-esque Plastic Ball
- 1 Thin Black Rubber Band
EFFECT #1: You, the magician, present a: box, lid, rubber band, and a ball. You piece the box together and wrap it up in a rubber band. You bring out a handkerchief and place it underneath it, then you place the ball on top of the box. You are then able to push down on the ball with a VERY audible *CLINK*. You take the handkerchief off and show that the ball has PENETATED THROUGH THE BOX! Afterwards, you can take everything apart for inspection.
REVIEW:
Despite it having one of the cheapest price tags for a Tenyo Magic trick, it’s considered one of the best Tenyo to have in one’s performance inventory—or just to have for the secret alone.
Also, despite it being VERY easy to find in the wild, it’s a rarity in the Tenyo Magic inventory.
‘How is that?’ you may ask.
Get ready for this: It’s one of the FEW Tenyo that can be inspected before AND after the trick. I’d wager that about 95% of the Tenyo inventory is uninspectable in some way, shape or form. In fact, the only other Tenyos I can name off the top of my head that ARE inspectable before and after a performance are: ‘Crystal Cleaver’, ‘Crystal Box’, ‘Flash Dice’, ‘Cubio, ‘Super Cubio’, ‘Coin Through Match’. And maybe some of the older Tenyo that I haven’t looked at because they are so hard to find and godwaful expensive. The most RECENT Tenyo that IS inspectable before and after a performance was 2013’s ‘Trap Box’. Nothing since then and not a whole lot before that.
The trick itself has been replicated and copied. You CAN find cheap versions of it out there, but honestly, they are slightly cheaper than the Tenyo version. Just go with the Tenyo version and save yourself some heartache.
So, inspectability aside (I think we really drove that into the ground), what’s the quality?
The box and lid are made of thick clear plastic. There are some extra nuances to the box to help the trick out even further. But this sort of thing will only be appreciated by the magician. The ball is nice; very shiny and chrome (like Mad Max: Fury Road). It’s not like chrome paint that flakes and peels off. It has this luster to it that makes it very vibrant and easy to see during a performance. You also get a rubber band. Yes, I’m going to talk about the rubber band. I don’t use it in a performance as I use it more as a ‘guide’ to find other rubber bands of the same size and shape.
Unfortunately, you will need to provide your own handkerchief, but honestly, you can use silk, cloth, cotton, etc. Because it’s only being used as a cover, it’s not too picky. However, a silk handkerchief captures the contour of the ball on top of the box (before you push the ball through) the best. I’d recommend a silk handkerchief, but you could really use anything you want.
There are a couple of ways you can get the ball into the box. And everything is small enough that you can do this in someone else’s hand and have their other hand push the ball. At least, I have the audience push the ball in.
Unfortunately, I won’t get into why I have the trick labelled as ‘intermediate’ as it has to do with the method in which it is done. It’s just not something I’d plop into the hands of someone who just started into magic.
I don’t really have any complaints about this Tenyo. In fact, there’s not a whole lot of things in which you can get into the good and bad. It’s just listing the facts and going from there. It is very minimalist in nature and does a very good job as long as everything goes according to plan. It’s sturdy, it’s inspectable, it’s fun; what’s not to love?
BURGLAR BALL
Inventor: Shigeru Sugawara
Year: 1994
Cost: $8-$15
Type of Effect: 1st effect: Penetration
Skill Level: Intermediate
CONTENTS:
- 1 Clear Box
- 1 Clear Lid
- Red Chrome-esque Plastic Ball
- 1 Thin Black Rubber Band
EFFECT #1: You, the magician, present a: box, lid, rubber band, and a ball. You piece the box together and wrap it up in a rubber band. You bring out a handkerchief and place it underneath it, then you place the ball on top of the box. You are then able to push down on the ball with a VERY audible *CLINK*. You take the handkerchief off and show that the ball has PENETATED THROUGH THE BOX! Afterwards, you can take everything apart for inspection.
REVIEW:
Despite it having one of the cheapest price tags for a Tenyo Magic trick, it’s considered one of the best Tenyo to have in one’s performance inventory—or just to have for the secret alone.
Also, despite it being VERY easy to find in the wild, it’s a rarity in the Tenyo Magic inventory.
‘How is that?’ you may ask.
Get ready for this: It’s one of the FEW Tenyo that can be inspected before AND after the trick. I’d wager that about 95% of the Tenyo inventory is uninspectable in some way, shape or form. In fact, the only other Tenyos I can name off the top of my head that ARE inspectable before and after a performance are: ‘Crystal Cleaver’, ‘Crystal Box’, ‘Flash Dice’, ‘Cubio, ‘Super Cubio’, ‘Coin Through Match’. And maybe some of the older Tenyo that I haven’t looked at because they are so hard to find and godwaful expensive. The most RECENT Tenyo that IS inspectable before and after a performance was 2013’s ‘Trap Box’. Nothing since then and not a whole lot before that.
The trick itself has been replicated and copied. You CAN find cheap versions of it out there, but honestly, they are slightly cheaper than the Tenyo version. Just go with the Tenyo version and save yourself some heartache.
So, inspectability aside (I think we really drove that into the ground), what’s the quality?
The box and lid are made of thick clear plastic. There are some extra nuances to the box to help the trick out even further. But this sort of thing will only be appreciated by the magician. The ball is nice; very shiny and chrome (like Mad Max: Fury Road). It’s not like chrome paint that flakes and peels off. It has this luster to it that makes it very vibrant and easy to see during a performance. You also get a rubber band. Yes, I’m going to talk about the rubber band. I don’t use it in a performance as I use it more as a ‘guide’ to find other rubber bands of the same size and shape.
Unfortunately, you will need to provide your own handkerchief, but honestly, you can use silk, cloth, cotton, etc. Because it’s only being used as a cover, it’s not too picky. However, a silk handkerchief captures the contour of the ball on top of the box (before you push the ball through) the best. I’d recommend a silk handkerchief, but you could really use anything you want.
There are a couple of ways you can get the ball into the box. And everything is small enough that you can do this in someone else’s hand and have their other hand push the ball. At least, I have the audience push the ball in.
Unfortunately, I won’t get into why I have the trick labelled as ‘intermediate’ as it has to do with the method in which it is done. It’s just not something I’d plop into the hands of someone who just started into magic.
I don’t really have any complaints about this Tenyo. In fact, there’s not a whole lot of things in which you can get into the good and bad. It’s just listing the facts and going from there. It is very minimalist in nature and does a very good job as long as everything goes according to plan. It’s sturdy, it’s inspectable, it’s fun; what’s not to love?
