Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: (I'd Be) A Legend in My Time by Ronnie Milsap

David Bonfadini: Sharp This Review

One gimmicked sharpie, six minutes of streaming video and $25 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.

Effect

Apparently draw a black line on someone's shirt, pants, etc., and magically make it vanish.

Method

The method is actually exposed in the ad copy. It's a retractable line of elastic that looks like the ink. It's easy to handle, and is very deceptive.

Ad Copy Integrity

The ad copy is also 100% accurate. As mentioned, it goes as far as tipping the exact method.

Product Quality

The gimmick is well made and does what it says. However, in the teaching video it shows David Bonfadini removing the gimmick from the pen and adjusting the tension. I could not remove the gimmick. Luckily, mine doesn't seem to need adjusting, but if it did, I wouldn't be able to do it.

Also, the streaming video was nearly pointless. It did show quickly how to operate the gimmick, but it was so quick and no detailed handling tips or pointers were given. For example, when doing this on someone's skin, there's a chance that you may actually scratch their skin with the marker, and retracting the gimmick is a little trick on bare skin. A few pointers on this would have been useful.

There was also a very young kid on the video who taught a trick he came up with. It's actually pretty clever, but there's a major flaw in the method that, again, was not covered in any depth. The effect is that you draw thin two-piece mustache on your face. Then it vanishes. It uses the pen and something else. The something else has to be pre-loaded on your face before doing the trick. The problem is that it's not something that is hidden. It has to be boldly right on your face. Then you hide it by holding the marker up to your face.

So, what . . . you walk in the room with a marker held up to your face, and then you do the trick? No details on how to get in this position were given. The entire video was only 6 minutes. Give me a break folks. Put some effort into your instructions.

Final Thoughts

If you like the basic gag/effect of drawing a line on someone and having it vanish, then you'll like this product. If you want ideas or detailed handling points on how to use this gimmick, you'll get none, and likely not be happy with your purchase.

Final Verdict:
3.5 Stars with a Stone Status of gem.

2 Comments

  • Carmelo says:

    This looks like a great gag effect and I would buy it for that reason. It’a a bit pricey for a gag but I appreciate the straightforwardness of the promo vid. He just gets right to it and performs the effect. No edits, no obscurity and no over produced musical score or irrelevant mood sequences that that would have added 3-5 unnecessary minutes to this trailer!!

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