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Tie Shell

David Penn

World Magic Shop

(Based on 2 reviews)
This is Tie Shell - The Colour Changing Tie.

David Penn has created a gimmick that provides the perfect solution to the colour changing tie plot.

The Tie Shell gimmick means that you can easily customise two ties of your own choice. This gives you the freedom to promote the corporate client's brand colours, create surprise or use the final revelation to underpin mentalism style routines.

A short moment of misdirection is all that is needed to effect the colour change.

The change at the end of the trailer occurs in real time! No Cuts or Edits!

Reviews

Jeff Stone

Official Reviewer

Feb 27, 2015

Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Silent Night by Bon Jovi


David Penn: Tie Shell Review


One DVD, one set of "stuff" to make your tie shell gimmick and $47 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.

Effect/Method


I think the title is self-explanatory. So rather than telling you what it is, let's talk about what it is not. It's not an instant and/or visual change. It's the kind of thing you do when you're able to block your body or turn around.

This is, of course, a very easy thing to do. It's the kind of deal where you draw attention to the color of your tie early on in the show/act, then later you draw attention to it again to reveal the change. When turning your back while a selected card is shown around, or while putting a prop back in your case, etc. you simply remove the shell. It takes just a second or two.

The method is, as the title explains, a tie shell. It's something you create that slips over your tie. With the DVD, you get a "thingie" that you use to help create your Tie Shell. You'll need to buy a tie that you'll destroy to make the shell. Once the shell is made, it can be slipped over any tie.

The construction takes about 10 minutes and is a little bit of a pain, but it's a one time thing. Once it's made, you'll use the same shell for your "starting" tie in the effect. However, the tie that it changes to can change with every performance.

Ad Copy Integrity


The ad copy is very fair and direct. The one thing I will point out, however, is a point of clarification about the claim that "The change at the end of the trailer occurs in real time! No Cuts or Edits!" This is true, and it is that fast. However, if you watch the trailer and see the change they're referring to, you would never actually do the change like that.

To cause the change to happen, you simply slide the shell off of your tie that you're wearing. The shell is then ditched in a bin, box, toppit, etc. In the video footage, the change happened while facing the audience and they would have seen everything. So just keep in mind that this is the kind of thing where you really need to be turned away from your audience for just a split second.

Product Quality


The DVD is well done. It covers everything you could possibly imagine about this effect. Yet it's not "too much." The gimmick itself is simple and will last forever. You have to supply your own tie and destroy one to create the rest of the gimmick, but everything you need to know about how to do this is covered in great depth.

Final Thoughts


This effect is not the kind of thing where you openly change the tie . . . "watch my blue tie become red" — it's not that kind of effect. It's more like, "check out my red deck of cards . . . it matches my tie . . . (you perform color changing deck) . . . look now the deck's blue . . . it matches my tie." Somewhere during the color changing deck routine, you turned away for a second while they showed their card around (or something like that). During that moment you changed the tie, but when you turn back around, they do not notice until you point it out. If you like that effect, you'll be very happy with this product.

Final Verdict:
5 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.

(Top ▲)

Stuart Philip

Official Reviewer

Dec 04, 2014

I am a fan of World Magic Shop and David Penn’s Tie Shell (The Colour Changing Tie). The title to this trick says it all. One moment you are wearing a tie of one color and a moment later, you are wearing a completely different tie.

This trick comes with a DVD that is about a half an hour and the pieces necessary to create the Tie Shell gimmick. To make the gimmick you will need to engage in some easy arts and crafts work, which will take about 10 minutes. You will need some basic art and crafts materials as well as a tie that will need to undergo some surgery. This surgical procedure means that you will never be able to wear that specific tie again, except for when you are doing this trick. The advantage of this trick is that you can customize it to your own style since you are using one of your own ties - or one that you buy for this trick.

The DVD has a live performance of the effect from one of Penn’s actual corporate stage gigs. Most of the DVD is real time construction and explanation on how to build the Tie Shell, which is properly paced, easy to understand and explained very well. The DVD also has a studio demonstration on how to effectuate the tie change, which is extremely easy and takes about a second. You can only do this once per performance due to the fact that the audience sees your tie before and after the change. The pre-show preparation takes about a minute.

The DVD even teaches you how to knot a tie, just like Penn does. I am guessing that most everyone that buys this trick will already know how to tie a tie, but the DVD leaves no questions upon its completion.

Penn explains that he mostly uses Tie Shell in a stage performance, but it can equally effective in a close-up environment. With some misdirection, the audience will not realize that the tie has changed colors until the performer points it out. This is true and makes the spectators wonder when and how the tie changed.

The ad copy is accurate, especially the claim that states a “short moment of misdirection is all that is needed to effect the colour change.” However the weird effects of the promotional video may unintentionally lead you to believe that the tie changes colors in front of the audience as if it were a chameleon’s skin. This potential for misunderstanding is the result of the overlay graphic flashing effect on the video of Penn at his corporate stage performance. Again, this trick needs a moment of misdirection to execute it and for that reason the true impact of the effect cannot be captured on a short promo video.

If you wear a tie during your performances, you should really add and incorporate Tie Shell into your act. For those that don’t wear a tie during your performance, you probably should – and then see the prior sentence of this review.
(Top ▲)