14 replies to this topic

[John C]

now the night is here and over for some what do you think of what you set off anything that was great or dissapointing

Ok I set off both weco rocket packs from lidl and there was one good one the rest was not the best my sister liked the selection boxes but there not for people like the members on here who like the propper stuff just more for kids or familys on a budget

[Dan2310]

I set off a few fountains from the fire pack last night and thought they were really good and probably some of the loudest you could get from a supermarket! Must say that families etc who bought from Lidl this year who have in the past bought from asda, tesco will of been really impressed!

My main display is tonight so just did a couple of fountains and went to our local display (talking of which just took dog around the park and everything has gone! Just one man picking up left bits of fireworks there and thats it, this was a VERY large good display too!)

My view on the night, a lot louder than last year. There was still loads of fireworks going off at 11ish here which I was impressed by!

[Rip Rap]

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of back garden fireworks - alot more than last year. Going off steadily from about 5 until 10pm.

This year (due to the cut backs) is the last year our council is puting on a "free" display. So hopefully, there will be even more back garden stuff next year.

[pjalchemist]

Off to Lidil with a blown apart cake. 25 comit thing from Weco. It was loud, made a hell of a thud on lift but then then it blew apart and nearly killed us!

[parachutelight]

I fired my stash last night,it stayed dry but very windy!,all went off fine,very impressed with the Weco cakes from Lidl,loud flash bursts and good spread,had a lot of Brothers stuff,always good,very impressed with the Superior Rockets from Absolute and the Demolition Ballhead from Rage,a big crown ring,had a couple of Sparky bits,not impressed!,a big mine with hardly anything in it,full of sawdust!,the smaller mines were better! Had Magellan rockets again,fantastic!,had a lot of rockets again,only one failure,a ball head that didn't explode,all the rest fine,i thought too they were louder than last year especially some of the cakes,certainly echoed round here! All in All,a good night,roll on new year!

[m00ny]

Already posted this on UKFR, but here are my thoughts on the Epic gear I set off friday:

Thunder King - This was perfect to get everyones attention, simple and no frills just 25 loud reports. Very good value for £6. 8/10

Humming Hornets - Its always nice to have somthing a litte bit different and this delivers, strange sound effects that had people laughing. I was impressed with the 4 comet tails at the end, very bright. 8/10

Sky Lab - This has lots of different effects for a £6 barrage and also has a finale of 5 shots of multi coloured breaks, good price and variation of effects. 7/10

Mad Moth - Another with some pretty cool and original sounds, hard to explain so you'll have to watch a video, also has multi coloured break finale. 7/10

Mission Control - I was quite suprised how loud this was for a 1.4g small barrage but it does pack a bit of punch. It has 24 shots all of which break with different effects, also has a nice strobe finale. 7/10

Heavy Duty - This is awesome, for £12 you get 64 shots with a host of different effects. The whistles are very loud and the finale is very cool with spinning shots rising to crackling bursts. 8/10

Tank Buster - I think this was perfect to have after the smaller barrages, its like a mini-finale and it starts slowly building up great pace towards the crackling finale. Fantastic duration and a real crowd pleaser. 9/10

Venom - This was strange, simply because it was the wrong barrage! It was labeled as Venom (regal from brothers choice) but it was actually Dark Thunder (Sovereign.) It was a bit of a shame this happened but what it did show me was that next year to just get all the Brothers choice because they are big breaks and very loud. 8/10

Colour Storm - I think the wind may have had an effect on this, it was good, loud breaks and the effect was interesting but it didn't seem quite like the video. 6/10

Six Machine - This is awesome, 16 shots with each one breaking 6 times with too many different effects to name. For me though, the best bit was the sound it made when each shot left the tube, a real deep thud. Worth every penny of the £20 price tag. 9/10

Gunpowdwer Treason and Plot - The new Jabberwocky, very good duration and a good pace builder starting with very bright thick comet tails onto screeching whistles then fans of multi coloured breaks. The finale could do with being a bit busier but not bad at all for the price. 7/10

Raging Bull - This is very good for £30 it has a mix of huge peonies with different fanned effects inbetween (crackling comets, bees etc.) The finale is fantastic with crackling comet tails that break into crackling bursts. 9/10

Chemical X - The new Open Fire, cant go wrong with it really, brilliant fanned barrage with superb timing and huge breaks. Completely fills the sky. 9/10

Imperial Invasion - Without a doubt the best single firework of the night, its £65 price tag is justified with ease. You get vertical comet tails, whistles, spinners to peonies, fanned crackling tails, big mines, funny sound effects and a finale of 3 sets of fanned very bright comet tails followed by a barrage of huge crackling breaks. All of this lasts well over 2 minutes, superb. 10/10

Venus Sky Trap - This had some very well timed, very big fanned effects, its a little on the pricey side £45 for 42 shots but it is a real sky filler and has a very good finale. 7/10

Steam Roller - The new "Fire One," another with a very good duration and a whole host of different effects and colours, both fanned and vertical. The finale is also fantastic, filling the sky with crackling bursts that seem never ending. 9/10

Thunderous Finale / Screaming Spiders - I was starting to think that maybe I had set off Imperial Invasion too early and should have saved it for the end, but as soon as these 2 starting firing I realised they perfect for the finale. Both of these for £80 and you get 60 seconds of pure carnage, I was suprised just how many shots there were and how quickly they were firing. I love the sound that Thunderous Finale makes when the shots rise from the cake, very cool. It all ended with a 8 shots of sky filling and long lasting crackling. Awesome. 10/10

As for the rockets, well it sort of confirmed what I originally thought about them, I'm not a great fan. We did'nt have many but the packs are good value. We had the Supreme pack and tbh for £12 they are good, loud and have lots of different effects. The echo bombs were very loud, exploding with a real deep bang. The Sky Thriller I wasn't all that impressed with, again this could have somthing to do with the wind, I don't know but theres no complaints considering it was a freebie.

From everything we fired these are the ones I will be buying again: Thunder King, Humming Hornets, Heavy Duty, Tank Buster, Brothers choice (Venom, High Voltage, Dark Thunder and Quick Fire), Six Machine, Raging Bull, Chemical X, Imperial Invasion, Steam Roller, Screaming Spiders and Thunderous Finale.

Overall, it was a really good night, the crowd loved it and couldn't thank us enough for putting on what they described as the best fireworks they've seen. Thanks to Epic for supplying a great deal and really good fireworks.

Edited by m00ny, 07 November 2010 - 10:55 AM.

[Epic Fireworks]

Glad it all went well

[Prestonboi]

For me, I've wrote a lot about Epic's stuff in the past so it's not worth writinmg again but it was all quality. The new stuff I really liked, The Brick and Earth Shaker, especially Earth Shaker now that is quality! It lasted ages and the bursts are huge and loud, well recomended.

Epic's Conic fountain was brilliant aswell. The ball head rockets superb especially the Green one, Smiley face came out upside down which was unlucky.

White Tiger rocket fantastic just remined me of Absolute's King Cobra.

Now that I've fired the King Rocket I agree it isn't much dfifferent from Sky Thriller which I thought was a lot better this year as it went straight up instead of forwards and away from us!

Epic's Heat Seeker, Space Blaster and Supreme rockets, wish I hadn't fire these all so much in 3's and 4's, the one's I let off 1 by 1 were amazing, great effects and a loud bang on each one which you could hear echo'ing round the neighbourhood!

Big thanks Epic for the large majority of stuff, Firework Warehouse and MDL.

[fireworkssouthwales]

we fired starburst , corona,crazy comets,marvel, essential all absolute fireworks excellent brothers king dom rockets even the smaller ones in the pack were loud we also fired some cakes from fantazia pyrothecnics golden sky,1 minute of madness,crackling chrysanths,rise of the dragon all really good cakes also their 4 ball rocket display pack really good burst and echo thanks

[ChrisP]

Fired my stash last night and had quite a crowd over. VERY impressed with pretty much everything, had a great time, and luckily it stayed dry and wasn't remotely windy so that was a bonus :-) Lots of cheers from the crowd and a massive round of applause when the last few had gone off so that was a massive buzz and made it worthwhile!

Review of (most of) my fireworks (BRAND, SHOP, PRICE):

Cakes

Liberator barrage pack (TNT, Aldi, £19.99) - This was quite good to start off with but nothing special, the 100 shot missile cake (Plasma Attack) was quite good, although one of the smaller Cat 2 cakes (can't remember the name, a whilstling one) provided us with the evening's only real 'hairy' moment as it fired a shot into the crowd. Luckily no-one was injured but it did give everyone a bit of a start. Overall not bad at all to start off with, but if I wanted another small barrage pack again I'd probably go with Night Star's Barrage Blast over this.

25 Carat (Weco, Lidl, £6.99/2 for £12) - As everyone has already said, very good cake for a supermarket, big, loud (for 1.4G) bursts and a real crowd pleaser. Hope Lidl stocks these next year, might have to get some if they sell them again at New Year!

Ipanema (Weco, Lidl, £6.99/2 for £12) - Another great value cake, nice comet tails and large, loud bursts and another real crowd pleaser. As above, would like some more for next year so may have to see whether they're being sold at New Year as I'm paranoid Lidl will go back to TNT next year.

Fire Fighter (Weco, Lidl, £9.99) - By far my favourite of the three Lidl cakes this year, more expensive than the other two yes, but better. Three stages - started off with comets, then turned into loud bursts of colour and finished with some nice big bursts and crackles. Another real crowd pleaser this one, great stuff.

Proton Bomb (Night Star, local seasonal, £7.99) - now I was very impressed with this indeed, I know it's not supposed to be like the old spec Proton Bomb (which I never witnessed as I have only really got into fireworks in a big way since the new regs came in) but it's a nice cake in itself. 16 loud bursts of colour (loud for 1.4G standards, probably louder than 25 Carat/Ipanema) fired two at a time. Would definitely get this again, very pleased :-)

Magnum Force (Majestic, Epic, £5.82) - Really liked this a lot! I think this was the first firework of the night to get an applause, simply brilliant for the price and very very impressive for a 1.4G cake. I do think that the performance differs somewhat from the video on the Epic website, though, so perhaps it's changed since that video was made? Despite that, really good firework for the money and definitely one I'd get again.

Cheeky Cherries (Fireworks International, local specialist, £10) - Cheeky Cherries never fails to please the crowd - it's a beautiful firework and one I'll get every year for as long as it's made. Amazing finale of sky-filling crackles.

King Cobra (Oriental, Epic, £6.45) - small 25 shot cake (1.3G) that really packs a punch. Very good value for money and probably the most noticeable fallout of the night - there was orange debris falling from the sky for quite a while after this finished which was a beautiful effect and made me glad that I adhere to the manufacturers' safety distances as otherwise it would have been falling on the crowd!

Mexican Firecracker (Night Star, local seasonal, £22.50) - Wasn't too sure what to expect from this one but I was quite impressed with it. It was basically a very loud screeching rapid-fire missile cake that really pleased the crowd. Not sure that £22.50 is a great price but then I'm judging it against Epic prices! Would probably get again as it's something a bit different (well, different from all the other cakes I had anyway!).

Dark Thunder (Oriental, Epic, £12.45) - Brilliant cake, absolutely HUGE bursts, bigger than anything else I fired. A real crowd pleaser which I'd definitely get again. I really cannot stress enough how big the bursts from this thing are.

Quick Fire (Paramount, Epic, £12.45) - Short but sweet. 16 shots fired 4 at a time, huge bursts, stunning effects, a real crowd pleaser and would definitely get again despite the short duration.

Magneto (Paramount, Epic, £22.45) - 36 shot, large and long-lasting palms. Big fan of this, so was the crowd, although some of the shots burst a little low to the ground for my liking.

Screaming Spiders (Epic, Epic, £29.95) - Well, what can I say, absolutely STUNNING. Best firework of the night by far and received a huge round of applause. Brilliant stuff, and would probably not do a display without it again for as long as I can get hold of it. Felt like a professional display.

Rockets

Cocktail of Rockets (Weco, Lidl, £6.99/2 for £12 for pack of 8 rockets) - Well, I thought the 4 rockets labelled 'Monster Bang' were very good indeed for small 1.4G rockets, but the other 4 were dreadful and evoked much laughter from the crowd to the point that I was a trifle embarrassed. I think I would buy this pack again if Lidl stocked it next year but let off the 4 rockets that weren't labelled Monster Bang beforehand and keep the other 4 for my main display.

Terminal Velocity (TNT, Aldi, £9.99 for pack of 16 rockets) - Well I have to say I'm very glad I listened to everyone's recommendations regarding this pack as I was very impressed indeed with these small Cat 2 rockets. Obviously they're not going to be anywhere near as good as the Epic rockets but they are very good value for money, with effects that were good enough to get some 'oohs and aahs' from the crowd. If Aldi stocks these next year then I'm getting them! This pack proves that new spec supermarket rockets *can* be good.

Tomahawk (Fireworks International, local specialist, £20 for 5 rockets) - Did not know what to expect of these as had heard nothing about them and could not find any test videos on line. They were OK, but nothing special, and at £20 for 5 not very good value at all. They were probably on a par with the Terminal Velocity rockets but disappointing considering they were so much more expensive. They also had a nasty habit of descending quite a way before bursting, with one bursting only a few metres above the ground. Would not get again.

Heat Seeker (Marvel, Epic, £7.95 for 5 rockets) - Well, what can I say, favourite rockets of the night by far. Loud, deep booms with some huge bursts of colour. One of them pretty much filled the entire sky above the garden. Amazing value for money at less than £2 a rocket and I wish I had bought more packs of them. I really cannot recommend these enough.

Panther (Absolute, local seasonal, £44.99 for 2 rockets) - Hmm, now these were nice rockets; they went a very long way up and gave a big, nice burst. However, I don't feel that they were good value at over £20 a rocket - I would much rather have spent the money on more of the small/medium Epic rockets, which is what I intend to do next year. So, overall, good rockets but I don't feel they're worth the asking price.

Other

Phoenix (Standard, Sainsbury's, £10) - One of only 2 items I bought from Sainsbury's this year (don't generally like Sainsbury's fireworks but feel it's become a bit of a tradition to try out a couple of their pieces!). Really nice fountain actually, started off with an impressive 'jelly bean' style effect (like last year's 'Halo' fountain, and presumably Kimbolton's Jumping Jelly Beans but I've never seen that) and then went on to produce a few more different effects, such as a nice crackle. Good fountain, quite long duration, OK value for money but not outstanding.

Sizzler (Standard, Sainsbury's, £5) - Fountain/mine combo, the other piece I bought from Sainsbury's this year. Started off with a nice crackle fountain and then finished with what was basically 6 small/medium mines in a row. Nice firework, pleased the crowd, pretty good value for money, would get again if it's sold next year.

Turbo Wheel (Night Star, local seasonal, £3.99) - Quite a nice Catherine Wheel but not particularly long lasting. Would probably get again as I feel it's reasonably good value for money at £3.99, despite the slightly disappointing duration.

Fiery Eye (Brothers, Epic, £5.45) - Wonderful Catherine wheel, the best I've ever seen. Incredibly fast spinning and had a long duration. The only Catherine wheel I've ever used that's got a round of applause - this is definitely one to get again!

Gold Collection Master Mines (Black Cat, Epic, £9.99 for 2 mines) - Best mines I've ever used, the first one was simply stunning with great, big bursts. The second was also great but not as good as the first. Would definitely get again but last time I looked on Epic's website it was no longer listed so perhaps it's no longer produced? That would be a great shame.

Silver Rain (Night Star, local seasonal, £14.99) - Large cone fountain, similar to Kimbolton's Mammoth Cone. I like this a lot but it didn't burn for quite as long as I remembered the Mammoth Cone burning, and I didn't feel it was especially good value for money at £14.99. I'd probably get it again but wouldn't pay any more than £10 for it.

Edited by ChrisP, 08 November 2010 - 08:17 PM.

[Prestonboi]

Great review ChrisP, enjoyed reading that and glad the night went well.

I noticed how loud the Heat Seekers were this year, real deep boom I could hear echoing round the neighbourhood, will buy more packs next time.

Edited by Prestonboi, 08 November 2010 - 07:03 PM.

[pyrogeoff]

I used a large mount of Epic fireworks in my show,most of there new large rockets,all with excellent effects,and they reached a great height,most of there large SIBS, Steamroller,The Brick,Skullcrusher,Earthshaker,Awaken,Angels v Demons,Gold Willow,To Name a few. Steamroller is a great firework, a replacement for Brothers Fire One,Angels V demons,Is a great Rapid fire Fan Cake,Earthshaker is a longer duration very loud item. Brothers Airboss 2 is another new fan cake,very good,also Absolute Zero2sixty,a great new item. My finale was 2 each of Epics Thunderous Finale,Sreaming Spiders,Wild Horses,and also an old Munition Store Ack Ack Barrage,and Finished with a Flight of 12 2oz old school Signal Rockets. Weather perfect,a great night, roll on New Years Eve.

[phildunford]

I had a few small Weco items from Lidl & was generally quite impressed.

I agree with ChrisP about the 25 Carot cake - very loud & lively, excellent value for a consumer cake. Wish I had bought some more.

The selection pack had some very good items, including some genuine old fashioned Roman Candles. However, the pack of four tiny cones must be the smallest fireworks I have ever seen!

Given the price, excellent value - only complaint, too much crackle - but then everyone seems to do this...

[Rocky Raccoon]

I got a couple of smallish selection boxes of Guy Fawkes Fireworks from JTF - the rockets included in the "Cascades" selection box were probably the most pathetic 'ffft' of a rocket ive ever seen, but in general the selection was okay - a lil samey - but then it came with a blue flame'd volcano-style fountain, which was pretty cool, not seen a blue one before

We actually started the display with a 'Funky Frog' .. yep .. funky frog - by Guy Fawkes Fireworks.. and to be honest - even with the 25 shot barrage at the end, it was the best firework of the night. Basically it was a very varied fountain! - It looked as funny as its name, and on lighting it - the firework actually illuminates the eyes and mouth while it sprays its very varied fountains of fire into the air - including crackles and pleanty of different colours! It was a pretty decent lasting firework too - not too long, but not too short - and because of its constant changes you didnt get bored neither



I remember november 5ths more than i remember my own birthdays >.> and although the weather promised the night would be a wash out originally (similar to 1997 in sheffield, the only year i remember it actually raining for the majority of the night) - it actually stopped raining just before 6, so although damp - the fire was lit, and the night got under way

AND lesson learnt from tonight? never let my dad light another firework. I gave him ONE - yes ONE firework to light - effectively an air bomb, complete with little plastic stake at the bottom - and he sticks it in a planter upside down.. so while we're looking in the sky for a pretty invisible ejected star.. there's suddenly a bang - and the planter is totaled. We were all at a pleanty safe distance of coarse.. but yeah.. that gave us pleanty to laugh about he'd set it so that the firework ejected the cardboard tube, while leaving the explosive in the ground .. so yes.. next year im lighting every single one.. hehehe

Bonfire Night 2010 - definately one of the best in years for me - if anyone was at the After Dark display - would love to know what it was like. we could her the booms from about 10 miles away!!

Edited by Rocky Raccoon, 09 November 2010 - 09:36 PM.

[Prestonboi]

Here's my video of the Green Ball Head Rocket by Epic Fireworks.

Edited by Prestonboi, 10 November 2010 - 02:06 PM.