One more note on this device. I use it mainly with the long thin animal balloons, not the big round
ones. With a 12 gram cartridge, I can blow up four balloons. Not bad. The cartridge does get cold
when inflating, but it doesn't seem to bother me too much, I even drop it down my sleeve afterward
to ditch it. However, one could wrap the cartridge in a black or flesh colored piece of cloth and
problem solved.
One more idea: I just had to share this one. I do a hilarious routine about a
news article about a man becoming pregnant (this is a real story. You can find it on the internet.
And, if it is on the internet, it must be true, right?). For this one I do use a round balloon and
it will take all of one CO2 cartridge to inflate. I have the device with a prepared balloon
attached to the inside of my shirt. The balloon has a "painted" baby face on it. During the
routine, I give birth to "my baby" and give the adorable little one away as a souvenir. Can you see
a forced card trick in there? Oh yeah. The trick goes horribly wrong and I can't guess the card
they "selected" to save my life! We have to move on to this little story. At the end of the story
we give birth to little Jack. Yes, cute adorable little Jack Diamond. Now, how many magicians
would give away their own baby as a souvenir? That is special! :)
2 of 2 magicians found this helpful.
The Gimmick is clever and operates perfectly with normal balloons. There is no way a 260Q balloon
lip would fit over the actual gimmick so stay with basic round balloons. The purchase of CO2 siphons
is an other issue. They are very big and not all that easy to palm or hide. The siphon gets very
cold as you fill up a balloon and can be uncomfortable. The cost of these siphons can vary from
$AU1.20 to $AU3.33 so this is an additional cost to my act which expendables can be about $11 a
show. I know, I know, just increase your show price. Once I master the hiding and ditching of
gimmick this will feature in my show as a segueway.
I see there are a lot of bad reviews, and that is too bad, because this is amazing!
Some
are saying that the CO2 cartridges pop the balloons. This hasn't happened to me yet. I use 12 gram
cartridges from the local sports store and they work great! The device is easily hidden in the
hand. His video has several ideas, and they have inspired me to come up with plenty more good
ideas. For example, I have all the Mel Mellers DVDs and a few of them have great fun balloon ideas.
Using this device, I start the fun with something very humorous. I like to pretend like I am
holding my breath underwater, hold my nose, puff out my cheeks, take a balloon out of a bag (with
the gimmick), hold the balloon to my ear, and blow up the balloon with the "hot air" from my ear as
I "uninflate" my cheeks. I pretend like the balloon wants to float away which is wierd that I would
have helium in my head! Another idea is to place the device inside a stuffed animal and pretend to
give the animal CPR. Penguin has a trick called "Collard" by John Archer. This trick is also on
his DVD called "Educating Archer", along with other routines. Using this device would be a great
addition to that routine. The device is a must have for anyone wanting to have a rip roaring time
with balloons. By the way, it is made to last 14 lifetimes. It is really good quality. He also
shows a vanish up the sleeve with an idea for a magnetic device up the sleeve that you could use for
countless routines, with this device or other objects. The video is in French with English
subtitles, and it just gets right to the point, so don't expect a lot of bla bla bla. Definitively
worth the money.
The instructions are on a video on Jordan's web page. I can't get anything on his web page to work
on either of my computers, so I have a gimmick without the additional item, and no idea how to use
it. I might like it if I knew how to use it; as it is I wasted $30.00.
FYI Have you tried out this trick yet? It is a lemon. I have it and it does not work. The directions
are on line and sub title no talking at all. The CO2 cartridge gets so cold it burns your fingers.
It will not inflate a 12" balloon.There are ice chunks that form at the neck of the balloon.
Threaded CO2 are not easy to find locally. I had to order mine. This rates right out there with the
Perfect nail bend. Try it out and let me know how much success you have. I'd be interested in
hearing from people who have had success with this.
I really like the gimmick. It is really well made and should last a few lifetimes! I would have
liked it better if the instructional video on demand was something I could download, or better yet,
a DVD that I could put in my DVD library. I have to go to a special website, enter the password and
then watch the video.