Hello All,

So here's the dilema (not a bad one to be in) I just bought two new illusions. One built by Wellington, and the other by Bill Smith. They are both works of art! So I'm on the phone with my wife and she tells me....."These are what illusions are supposed to look like! You can't perform your sawing in half illusion next to these things." (I have a thin model sawing, it works great, but it looks pretty used) So she gives me the go ahead to try and find a new one that looks like the caliber of the two new ones we bought. (Yes, I did find the perfect wife.....they do exist!) I have spent the past few hours online searching to no avail. The only two places I could find that made them were CRAP illusions...sorry I mean SNAP, and Abbots. Abbots wants me to pay for a price quote. Granted it's only 5 bucks, but based on general principal I don't want to pay someone to tell me how much they will sell me something for. That is ridiculous! Oh, I also found Blaney's sawing and the Pendragons clear sawing, but both of those are way out of the price range now. Does anyone here know of where I can find a good deal on a well made thin model sawing prop? Also, what are your takes on the TMS verses Modern Art? Thank you all!

Scott

Hey Scott, what new illusions did you get?

Scott,

You should ask Bill, and/or Owens for a quote on a Thin model. Being a "standard" illusion Bill may not be too expensive for it. Both Bill and Owens may also have access to a "lightly" used one. (Owen, I believe, used to stock one for rental, maybe they would be interested in replacing there "used" one for a newer one). Just a couple of thoughts.

B

Thank you Blair and everyone else for the PM's. This is truly magicians helping magicians. I have received some great advice!

Hey Richard. It was an Origami, and an Asrah Levitation.

Another potential solution -- remodel the old model. Sometimes new legs, a paint job, some trim and recreating shiny new pieces will do the trick in a timely and relatively inexpensive (do not go cheap) manner.
Airbrush artists can work wonders -- as can adding plastic laminates.

Gregg is right, remodel the old one. For a few hundred bucks you can get laminate, new hardware and stuff and save a pile of money, compared to getting a new one.

All Excellent advice! I will look into that as well! Does anyone know how hard it would be to refurbish the F@ke F@@t with RC F@@t?

Another idea, just off the top of my head. Perhaps you might want to retire the thin sawing and replace it with a similar yet different effect? Modern Art comes to mind immediately. Obviously this is not the way to go if the thin sawing is a personal favorite illusion with a routine that works really well for you, but it might be an opportunity to think outside the box a little bit too! It's so great that your wife is so aware of the aesthetic importance of the overall performance!

I would also contact Bill Smith and Wellington. They may know of a good used unit available.

As for it being dated, possibly. But a strong presentation can overcome this stigma.

Richard

I would agree that remodeling would be the way to go. As far as the remote control upgrade goes, I would imagine one of the good builders would sell you a unit to replace the non-motorized piece you have. I don't think the extra electronics would take up too much more room than the basic unit.

I can't wait to see these in action . . .

Thanks,
Richard

That is an excellent idea Frank, one that I have been thinking about as well. Again, a whole hearted thanks for all who are offering their advice. I'm not sure if this was a good idea or not....I started out with two ideas in my head on what I wanted to do, and now I have about 10 excellent ideas on what I want to do! All better than what I had in mind though, so THANKS AGAIN!!

Richard: How is the Modern Art project coming along?