The Milson Worth Silver Meteor cage was never a great design to start with (although with some slight modifications it can be made to work ok ... or major modifications as in the case of Tommy Wonder , who more or less re-built the Milson Worth cage from the ground up for his own purposes). The Milson Worth cage was a flawed copy of a better cage made by Warren Simms.
Since at least the 1980's there have been cheaply made copies of the Milson Worth cage originating from India, some are not bad , but most are junk. At one time Sam Dahal (Sam's Magic Service of Calcutta, India) made a pretty good cage based on the Milson Worth cage. Sam Dahal has also one business as Electro-Fun Magic and currently as Funtime Magic. (I don't know if the current cage supplied by Funtime Magic is of the same quality as the older cages from Sam's Magic Service).
The Sam Dahal/Sam's Magic Service cages usually came in a red box like the one shown below. The instruction sheets say "Sam's Magic Service, Calcutta". If you can get one of these it's probably usable , with some slight modification as mentioned below.
These cages from Sam Dahal actually improved on the Milson Worth cage in some ways , being slightly larger. -- 5" x 4" x 4", compared to M-W cage 5.00" x 3.75" x 3.625" -- and shortening the over-long cross-bars of the Milson Worth cage (which is the major design flaw of the Milson Worth cage). It's not a great cage, not in the same league as a Lindhorst or a Jim Riser 'Baby Lindy' but it is usable. (the sad little fake bird that comes with it is not usable. Invest in a small size Jonathan Neal parakeet ! Jonathan custom makes the parakeets, so let him know it's going in a small cage, 5" x 4" x 4")
Here's a comparison of the Milson Worth and the Dahal cages, side-by-side:
There are other cages of similar design (all copies of copies of the original Milson Worth cage) also made in India , marketed under various brand names such as "Premium Magic" (I suspect at least two of these are from the same Indian company under different names) . I think these cages are probably all made by the same source and simply re-branded as needed. These cages are worthless and should be avoided. They are actually dangerous, being prone to breaking , with sharp, rough edges that can catch on your clothing or your skin. A cage that snags is a disaster in any case, but if it rips up your skin it's even worse. I think these cages have probably put many magicians off ever performing the Vanishing Bird Cage. They give up in frustration. Magic dealers should be ashamed to sell this sort of junk.
Superficially the currently available cages branded as "Premium Magic" etc. are similar to the Milson Worth cage and the early Dahal/Funtime cage, but they are of much lower quality. Besides the rough, sharp edges that snag , they are also difficult to hold (very wobbly). This is how you can usually tell the difference between an older Dahal cage and the newer, junkier ones , because the earlier Dahal cage can actually be held (carefully) in one hand, as can be done with the Milson Worth cage, too.
dishonest eBay seller who claimed they were selling a Milson Worth cage ,but this is the one I received)
