In the world of magic, the term 'illusion' usually stands for a large effect using a person or large animal or other large object. The term 'illusionette' is kind of an odd term which is basically means a smaller illusion.
I just finished building a wonderful piece that was the creation of Larry White. It was a chore to build and I in no way did all the work myself. My father and I did the construction and I couldn't have done it without his help. It was a tricky piece to fabricate.
I'm calling mine The Disectalator, a Very Dis-Arming Illusion. I chose to go with a more subdued steampunk look. Not an over the top steampunk appearance on this one. It has one gauge which I think looks really incredible. I found this gauge on eBay. The folks I got it from also have a store called www.VintageWireAndSupply.com. They've got incredible electrical parts and devices to really take anything and give it a vintage appearance.
Other than the gauge, the only other steampunky looking thing were the bolts that adorn the top edge of the box and the lower section as well. These were all decorative, none of them actually serve a real purpose. I added brass corners onto the lower box and the upper box as well, just to give them a bit more Victorian look.
After working on this piece I came upon an idea for a slightly different illusion, so in the near future I'm going to be rebuilding the upper box for a new effect (which I'm not going to divulge right now).
The effect if you are not familiar is, the magicians arm is pushed through the upper boxes so that his/her hand comes out the far left end. Two metal blades are pushed thru the box dividing it into three sections and then the middle is pulled up, or zig-zaged as it were. The zig zaging can be seen below, minus the arm. I can't take the photo and be IN the prop, lol. I hope you enjoy it. Once the second version is complete, I'll post an image of that as well.
MORE: One of the joys of steampunk work for me is a project never quite seems to be done. Just when I think I've completed it, I find something I can add or replace to make it even cooler. In the case of this prop, I decided very shortly after taking the photos to add one more thing, really to balance out the prop. The right box has a gauge, the middle box has the handle, but the left box had nothing, so I added something to it. It also helps the routine as now the valve handle seems to serve a function, though in truth, that is an illusion
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