Balloon Review 058 - Twist & Talk Balloon Puppet System by Axtell

Available from http://www.axtell.com/twist.html priced $149.95 plus shipping

Introduction

I am sure most of your are familiar with the amazing work of Steve Axtell and his team. I have been using Axtell puppets and the remote drawing board for several years and they are an integral part of my show. When I saw the announcement of a new balloon puppet system I was excited and intrigued especially as this has been developed with help from a number of balloon legends including David Brenion and Don Caldwell.

There are two versions of this product. The one I am reviewing is the 'cheap' manual version but there is also a hands-free animatronic version that retails for $949.95. I figured that trying the manual version first would be a nice low risk introduction to the principle of balloon puppets and if I liked it I could buy a fully automatic version (as with my drawing board I use the manual and the remote controlled version).

I ordered the product via the Axtell website, delivery was smooth, fast and everything arrived safe and sound.


So What's The Idea?

The principle of Twist & Talk is that you build your balloon model design around the main core of the product. In simple terms you are purchasing a moving puppet mouth on a stick which allows you to move the lower jaw of any creation (assuming you are using this for a mouth - there are other opportunities here) and that this mouth is controlled using a drawstring that fits over your thumb or finger and runs down the back of the stick.


What's Inside The Box

In the box you will receive the main puppet control stick, a removable wooden base plus three additional mouth base plates that allow you to build different sized designs (more about those later). Also in the box is a very small printed sheet which offers very little in way of information.

The main prop itself is very well made. The puppet stick is made of what I think is a very strong thick black plastic. The mouth parts are covered in a felt type material that will prevent the balloons from popping. The control string is literally just string tied to a ring but I would think that over time this will break and may need replacing. I would think this is something you could do for yourself but I just haven't worked it out yet.

Without any balloons attached, the movement is very smooth, incredibly quiet and easy to control. My only concern is about how comfortable it is to control the unit with a thumb or finger as naturally my thumb sticks out to the side in the way I am holding it (see photo) meaning that the string from the exit hole goes at a diagonal to the ring which in my own personal opinion hampers the motion slightly. I am sure this is something that will become easier in time as I get used to the prop.

The wooden base has a hole in it so the prop can be inserted. It then acts as a stand to hold your puppet and could even be used in performance as well if you wanted to. My only thought is that the stand could have been finished in black to match the prop rather than the untreated wood.

As for the extra mouth base plates, these are well made out of plastic and covered in felt-type material. The mouth pieces are held in place with elastic strips. Cleverly, notches have been made along the side of the permanent mouth pieces to stop the additional plates from sliding off.

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Darren if you inserted your thumb the other way would that make the pull down of the mouth smoother for you and less awkward?

Graham, not really - looking at some of the on-line instructions it may be that my thumb has to be central and slide up and down the back of the pole but it just feels awkward. I will play with it as I make some of the designs.

To the left...

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To the right...

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And the centre... so far these seems to be the preferred holding position....

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What Instructions Do I Get?

With the product you do not physically get any instructions in the box. All the instructions are on-line and can be viewed here...

http://www.axtell.com/twistins.html

The videos will teach you the basic operation of the prop and then it is really down to you to make some of your own designs. Don (Buster) has a nice video showing sample designs and if you have a reasonable ability you should be able to work out how to use them. One word of warning... the better balloon models that Don shows are designed for the hands free version and this does mean that he can do more with the body design as he doesn't need to operate the pull string. Some adaptation is require if you are going to use these designs. I found out the hard way by making Don's monkey and then realising the body design wasn't compatible with my manual version. Don't make the same mistake.

For this review I figured it would be best for me to try out each on-line design, share my thoughts, try the prop out in the real world before giving my final verdict. As with all my reviews this could take some time but rest assured you will get an honest opinion by the end of the process!

Enjoy the ride :-)

If you prefer position 1, to the left or position 2, to the right, can you drill a new hole in the pipe so that the string comes out in the correct position for you?

BALLOON PUPPET MAN by DAVID BRENION

I finally attempted the first set of video instructions which are available on-line (see previous post with link details). This part of the review will talk about the quality of the instructions and the design of the balloon rather than the actual puppet hardware already described.

Ok where to start...

The on-line videos are fine but I would have preferred to have received a proper DVD with the prop.

THE HEAD DESIGN

The head itself is made in two sections (top half and lower jaw). The top of the head is a simple design. I like David's ear design by wrapping a loop around a pinch twist. The top of the head is attached to the puppet prop using a single uninflated piece of 260Q. I had big problems with keeping the eyes in position as they keep falling back into the head so I added an additional 260Q column going from the underside of the nose to the top of the head, adding an additional pinch twist to hold the hair in place. This worked much better for me and allowed the 160Q eyebrows to stay in position. I also found that the top of the head did not sit well on the puppet prop. It kept moving and sliding around even though it was tied tight in place. To make it more secure I tied an additional uninflated balloon along the front of the upper jaw wrapped around the additional 260Q column I added myself. This certainly helped.

The lower jaw is a 160Q loop that wraps around the edge of the lip of the puppet prop with a pair of pink/goldenrod 160Qs tied together at the front lip. This was not sufficient to hold the lower jaw in place and so I added a glue dot to attach the 160Q loop to the pink/goldenrod 160Q pair of bubbles.

I tested the head without adding the body. I was able to get the mouth to open completely but full closure is not possible due to the pink 160Q position. It would be better if the mouth would close fully in my opinion. I still struggled to operate the string pulley as previously described and tried many different hand positions. The puppet squeaked badly.

THE BODY DESIGN

The body design is straightforward and the arms and feet are easily attached. Clearly this is a basic design but you can imagine adding many variations to make different characters. Attaching the body is achieved by tying the body to the puppet prop post. With the body in the best position mouth movement was severely restricted. Maximum mouth movement can be gained by lowering the body further down the puppet prop post but then it looks like the head of the puppet is disconnected from the body when the mouth is closed. Trying to operate the puppet with the body attached is even more problematic. I really had to squeeze my fingers into the body of the balloon and try to manipulate my thumb to pull the string.

INITIAL THOUGHTS

** Warning these are my own thoughts, if you do not agree do not get upset and angry. By all means share your own experiences! **

Clearly this is a prop that is new to the market and it will take some time to experiment and develop new techniques and model designs. I purchased this prop with the impression that I could bring along a 'normal' looking balloon model to one of my shows and to be able to simply pick it up and make it talk. My current view is this too experimental for me to include in one of my shows. The puppet is clunky, the positioning of the balloons I have found unreliable, I really find it a struggle to operate cleanly and smoothly and to me this to too high risk to perform live.

I absolutely adore Steve Axtell's creations - I have many of his products and use them constantly and you all know I rate David's work highly (see previous reviews) but I have an uncomfortable feeling that this product is destined for the magic cupboard or will be available for sale!

Now I may be unfair in my comments and I have yet to work through the other designs on the Axtell website but remember I am reviewing this as a professional prop for use in a professional show... I just can't see that at the moment....

I will continue to experiment...

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For a video you will need to be my friend on Facebook....  

http://www.facebook.com/darren.atkins.58

Hi Darren,
I don't think your review is unfair at all. I completely agree with you that the full potential of the Twist & Talk have not yet been discovered.
That being said, I am still very excited about it's future. I agreed to be apoart of Steve's development team because this was something entirely new to the balloon world. I knew that if it were released, we would see an explosion of creativity. I have only dipped my toe into the design possibilities of this prop, and my hope is that all of the folks who have purchased one of these gadgets will experiment and share their results.
As always, your brutal honesty is what makes your reviews so reliable. You never mince words, and I respect you all the more for it!

Last night i revisited this product and experimented with some other designs on the website. I have to say after much playing and careful consideration, this item is really not for me. I wanted a regular looking balloon to turn into a puppet. I cannot operate it properly and therefore is too high risk and restrictive for my show. Certainly in time I am sure more designs will be come available and others will generate more ideas.

I guess I didn't really give this item due consideration before purchasing. I just saw the word Axtell and Buster and Dave as collaborators and thought "WOW, buy one now"

I am not criticising any of the talented people involved with this project - I love creativity and people pushing boundaries with our art but on this rare occasion it will be joining the bottom drawer of magic rejects and may see the light of day at some point in the future.

If anyone who has purchased this has had a different experience then please share - remember everyone has different views so maybe your comments will make this one a little more balanced.

Sorry everyone.

(good quality prop, nice idea, good potential - but no good to me right now)

Now for sale on EBAY!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160979878320