Shazam Blog

So I am pretty much nuts about this model: a hot, sexy model that’s all mine.

I’m talking of course about a scale model … but it’s not like a plane or car or something like that. It’s a model of a box for a magic illusion that I cooked up. I’ve never seen anything like it before, so I’m hoping audiences will appreciate that originality.

The proposed effect involves this box, which sports a removable lid and walls that unfold. The front and back are made of clear plastic, the sides and lid are solid. The lid is placed on, and all four walls are folded up and attach to the lid. Not only is it assembled before the audience, but it remains in full view, and the audience can see right through it. The final version will also include a turntable in the base and four little spotlights, one in each corner.

In the full-size version (about the size of a suitcase), the box will be assembled, and an audience volunteer will choose a style and color of a vehicle, as well as find seven random letters and numbers for the license plate. We’ll then fill the box up with some smoke, and yank the lid off (which in turn causes the sides to fall open).

There rotating on the turntable, gleaming in the spotlights, will be a model of their chosen car, accurate down to the license plates.

How cool will that be? Please note that this is still in the development stages, so the routine and working is subject to change before you see it in one of my shows. But I’ve been kicking around this idea for about a year, and the model has made me even more excited to proceed.

Thoughts? Feel free to share ‘em, and I’ll let you know when this effect makes it into the show!