Other similar considerations
Tom Burgoon’s Snake Eyes
Keith Lack”s Creature
Michael Ammar’s The Little Hand
Rodger Lovins’ What Tha

These items are very similar to each other. Being a sucker for such effects, I have all of them. In this list, each has its own effect even though they work the same.

Snake Eyes: Has a shocking effect, with the aid of eyes, this makes spectator tend to concentrate more. Plus, you can combine this with other dice effect. Good fitting on the finger.

Creature: More of a creepy effect, hard and ill-fitting on finger.

The Little Hand: Cute effect, makes people laugh.

Now, let’s talk a little more about Rodger Lovins’ What Tha.

Effect
This prop enables you to produce a “live” creature in your cupped hands and it looks darn real and has the shocking effect on your spectators.

Product description
As described in the product description, no hype about it.

Method
Instructions that came with it are in the form of a YouTube link. It is very clear and concise and several methods are taught. There is even a method on showing the hands clean which I think is not really important. Maintenance of the prop is also taught. Cleaning up is also taught in the instructions. The instructions says to perform this for a very short while but I feel that the duration should be long enough for spectator to register that this a “bird” in the cupped hands rather than a black thing moving.

The handling is pretty easy and not difficult to do at all. Magicians of all levels are able to perform this easily. If you perform it using the simple method, there is no worries on angles as the prop is hidden in your cupped hands. Cleaning is relatively easy with the proper misdirection.

Quality
This gimmick can look pretty realistic on close examination but this is not meant for close examination, it is rather a quickie type of effect. The prop itself is made of a soft plastic and is covered with feathers. Even the eyes are shiny. But this is upon opening the package, after a few usage, they eyes seems to dim a bit, the feathers becomes flatten and won’t have the “3D” look. I only wish that the prop would look pristine forever.

Verdict
Despite some drawback on this item, I still like this very much. If you are a sucker for such effects like me, I highly recommend you get this, if you have never had such effects before, this is a good one to start with.

Rating: 9/10

Highly Recommended