For those of you who own these, which do you recommend? What gets better reactions?

I've owned a couple of doves for almost a year now, but have not put them into a show yet. I would like to introduce them via one of these effects, please advise.

Thanks.

Dude go for dove in balloon tray. The tray can easily be disguised as a table top and its more open and clean, dove in balloon casket or whatever version you're looking into is just another box...

I go with what Sperris said. Dove in balloon tray gets very good reaction.

Thanks guys. Is the Chalet version the one to get then?

Was the dove box you were thinking of the Tony Clark version ? Despite the fact that it's a "box trick" I still like it .

http://www.tonyclarkmagic.com/cgi-bin/video/tcvideo.cgi?65

(there is a video demo at the link)

I don't do doves anymore , but at one time I had a Chalet version of the dove balloon tray and it was a very dependable , well-made piece of apparatus. You won't go wrong with a Chalet product .

This one looks very interesting :

http://home.att.net/%7Eharlinmagic/dovearchery.html

Anyone know what happened to the Chalet website? I can't seem to access it.

Dove Archery sounds impossible or should I say sounds like real magic. Anyone has/used/experienced this effect before. Please shed some lights. The price is not posted so I guess it's pretty hefty.

Dove casket compartment is pretty tight for the dove, so make sure you don't have fat doves, like I do.

I hope to move from UK to Spain next year. I may be performing outside sometimes. BUT I still would like to use my 2 doves. Is it worth buying a dove casket to produce them? I have the doves to rabbit. Any ideas anyone? thanks.

Wally,

If you are working outdoors, buy and use it! Even a very gentle wind can wreck your act.

George at Chalet will make you a crystal box to cover a Chalet Dove in Balloon. The trick works great with it. I use that combination outdoors often. (I also use it where there is food and the Health Department won't allow loose animals.)

With a Chalet Doves to Rabbit, outdoors the problem is getting the doves produced and into the DTR without a problem. Once in the box there is no problem as long as you have a rabbit that will stay on the table top. Those Chalet props are getting hard to replace. I would not recommend using the Chalet Doves to Rabbit outdoors for that reason. The only one I ever destroyed blew off an outdoor stage. The producer paid to replace it but the supply now may not be what it once was.

Adding and extra $600 to the fee for outdoor stage shows makes a lot of sense. Things go wrong, equipment gets damaged and stuff walks off stage because security is usually very poor. It's just a cost of doing business. (Also, don't use your good PA for outdoor shows! A visiting insect can short out a board just as fast as would a bucket of water.)

Bob
Magic By Sander

Checkout TORA MAGIC

http://www.chaletstephens.com

Thanks Kregg!

That is the new site for Chalet. George and Mr. S got together for what we hope is many more years of great professional props.

Bob
Magic By Sander

I agree. George's stuff is topflight and gives years of service.

What I have seen of Tora's stuff is it looks good but it seems lite on the troupe-ability of it. It might be fine if you are not working much.

Richard

In the mid-seventies a friend, who was an escape artist, showed me his new Chalet Sub-Trunk and the craftsmanship blew me away. I owned a couple Dove-in-balloons, I shouldn't have been surprised.
It's like Owen Magic or guys like Walter Blaney, Joe Porper, Chance Wolf along with limited others who pump out high end merchandise that gives a show that extra something special. Thanks.

I have owned and used EXTENSIVELY my first
Chalet Dove in Ballon for 20 Years now!

I Purchased it from the Illustrious Mr. Paul Gross, (of Hocus-Pocus Fame),
back when he owned "Wizard's Magic Shop" in 1985.

I even bought a Back-up just in case I ever needed it....

so far I've NEVER Needed it!!!

You simply WON"T find a Better made Dove in Balloon! I GUARANTEE IT!!!

=Frank=

I need some ideas for using a dove tray outside , can I cover dove tray with cage. would I be able to release the dove with a cage on top of tray.

Wally, you basically asked this question earlier in this thread and Bob Sanders gave you an answer. You can cover the tray with anything that doesn't get in the way, whether it's a cage or a box or any other prop.

Frank,

It's easy to see that your a man after my own heart! I can't afford for things to go wrong either. So I have backup props packed for overnight shipping for emergencies.

Only twice have I had to do that with Chalet equipment. Once the wind wipped out the stage in Oklahoma and the other time I made it from Vegas to Hawaii but my props didn't. (They got lost in LA and slowly came back to Alabama. I even beat them home. Most things eventually make it back on their own schedule. But it will ruin your show. Solve all the problems you can in advance. Never let them see you sweat.)

Bob
Magic By Sander

You are correct, Bob!

I have been performing Full-Time for the last 21 Years, and have a duplicate of almost every vital prop that I am using!

You never know when you might need one...

=Frank=

Be sure that if you work outside with doves, that you'll be able to recover it if it gets airborne. I know of a magician who did a show in a park beside the Grand River, in Grand Rapids. The dove got caught by the wind and went right into the river. There was no way that he could get to it safely, because of the strong currents - it just floated away.