"Firebird" by Edo
Suggested Retail USD$75.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 7 Out of 10

"Firebird", a utility device by Edo, is a great way to produce a burst of flame from just about anything you can hold that is hampered only but its lack of documentation.

"Firebird" is everything the ad says it is, that's for sure. The blasted thing is so fun and so close to perfect that its use is addicting. Show your hands empty and suddenly there's a burst of flame. Pick up a pen, remove the cap, get a burst of flame. Show a coin, toss it from one hand to the other, get a burst of flame. You get the idea: pretty much anything you can handle can produce fire.

As they say in the ads, "Firebird" is a hand-made electronic gimmick that produces those bursts of flames. Very small and with a slick ignition system, it does away with the switch used by some devices and relies on an inclination switch. Hit the main switch and you're ready to go live anytime you want. It's quite a clever device, to say the least.

Shoot, I'm not a guy to use fire in any way, shape, or form, but "Firebird" is, as I said, addictive.

Here are some things you should be aware of, though:

The set-up time is neglible (it takes only a few seconds to reload it, though you'll want privacy for that time); you cannot get a rapid sequence of flames from it; one shot and that's it.

"Firebird" is designed for use with flash cotton, not flash paper. Check on how easy (or difficult) it is to get that in your area before making the plunge here.

Documentation is almost non-existent. You're pointed to a website for the real work with "Firebird", but you're still left in a lurch when it comes time to find a replacement for a certain piece of this. If the intention was for a video presentation to teach the device, they should have put it on a mini-disc and called it a day.

And that's about it for "Firebird". All in all, it's one pretty piece of equipment that gets the job done elegantly.

My recommendation? If you're into fire magic, this is one device you shouldn't be missing from your arsenal. Small, reliable, and easy to use, "Firebird" is great for those times when you just gotta have some fire around.

"Firebird" by Edo
In a Blink: 7 Out of 10

Practicality: 8
A quick flash of fire, at any time, easily and reliably. It's small size makes it extremely easy to hide, palm, ditch, or otherwise dispose of. The biggest issue you'll have is the reset, which can take some time and will definitely require a trip to the bathroom.

Workmanship:10
Oh, boy, is this one slick piece of merchandise. It's very well designed and assembled and should last a good long while with proper maintenance and care.

Documentation:2
The documentation is, in a word, bad. It depends too much on a website listed in the instructions to teach the use of this device. There's enough here to get you going but some very important information is left out.

Effect:9
This is a utility device so it's pretty much all in what you do with it, but even just the appearance of the fire burst as an accent to an existing routing can up the ante. Really powerful stuff, this device.

Presentation:9
As with the effect, the presentation is all pretty much in what you do with it. But I can say this: a burst of fire, coming out of nowhere, with no signs of any kind of ignition? That's good, powerful stuff used correctly.

Shane

Available direct from your favorite dealer. Dealers, please contact Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. toll-free at 1-800-853-7403 or visit Murphy's Magic Supplies website.