Avengers: Start with the cable channel Nickelodeon. They run the series. Also try searching for Avengers and 1970-80's TV programs with your favorite search engine. Blockbuster Video should have some of the videos to rent. Must haves Mr. Steele with his Bowler hat and Umbrella in a natty double breasted suit [pin striped if I remember correctly] and Mrs. Peale in her skin tight jumpsuit. The scene would be Very, Very English in style also.

Patricia / Redwood City, CA

Avengers, think 60s Mod, like the Austin Powers movies which were a tribute of sorts. And of course you'll need dolls of Mrs. Peel (young Diana Rigg in a leather jumpsuit, long flipped hair, and discreet black eyeliner) and Mr. Steed debonair in suit (incomplete without bowler hat and rolled umbrella). Should be a lot of fun to do; you could make pedestal chairs from party favor champagne glasses for the base with egg carton or plastic egg seats/backs, use old plastic necklaces for a beaded curtain, etc.

Loretta.Sniarow

Avengers: If I were going to do a set up of this series for someone the first thing I would ask is which of the four series is that person's favorite? Steed originally was the cohort of another man, then he went with a blond (can't remember her name right off hand - was not my favorite but one of the first women libbers on TV), then was Emma Peel and finally Tara something or other (you can tell which was my favorite). Each of the couplings made the series come off very different from each other. They also covered quite a time frame (I would say 1960's through the 70's). One of the cool things I remember and loved were all the different cars and vehicles Steed used from old 1910's to modern speedsters to hay wagons.

Ana

Avengers: Steed and Mrs. Peel!! BTW she got her name from a pun. "Emma Peel" - man appeal!!!!!

Perhaps a couple of champagne glasses from the opening sequence and a red rose. And remember the eye Mrs. Peel had on her front door? How about an old style stereo and some black vinyl LP's? If you look on collectors' sites you should be able to find some covers to miniaturize.

Lots of leather and zips. Diana Rigg is a Dame now, a stalwart of the British theatre, but then she was definitely the 'It' girl of the '60's!

Lynne Connolly

Pickle picker: I have one I bought at Dollar Daze. I use it to hold small things and spray paint them. Retrieve itty bitties off the floor. It's in my tool box.

Jan in Cincinnati

Hot knife: A hot knife is nothing more than a soldering iron where the hot of the material it is cutting so for smooth cuts; every so often; rub the hot blade on some fine steel wool to keep it shiny clean.

They can be purchased at stores that sell kites. I use one to cut rip stop nylon and Tyveck. It cuts the material and seals the cut so there are no loose ends to unravel.

DrBob...Delray Beach, FL

Wiring diagram: I have received a lot of requests for a diagram on the wiring technique I recently described on SS. I made one up and if you promise not to laugh at my drawing, you can see it at http://www.spminiatures.com/tapewire.jpgFeel free to print it and share it with anyone. I did another diagram showing how the tapewire is done throughout the house. That diagram is at http://www.spminiatures.com/tapewire2.jpg

Carol

Finding tape: You can find the tape under your wallpaper easily if you trace the tape on paper before you wallpaper. Fit notebook paper or similar paper on the wall, mark the top and back, then trace the location of the tape, and keep on file. Oh yes, also mark which wall of which room :) this will make it easy.

Susan in OR

Finding tape: You can also find tape by photographing the room before wallpapering or painting. That also helps in case of a problem later on you will know exactly where the tape is located throughout all the rooms.

Carol

Wire your house on the OUTSIDE!!! I detest tape wire! Give me wood paste filled grooves and round wire any time. I hide it inside window moldings, floor moldings and even beneath siding. Tape works well on the outside beneath siding. That's the only time I would recommend it. I have never understood all the hype about putting it inside beneath wallpaper. . it shows!

I also find it simpler to wire on the outside of the house, just drilling and inserting it for plugs and sconces and such. No bother with fill either. Inside walls can have the wire running along the floor. A bit of planning and attention to placement and it's successful. I always solder each join! No failures, no glitches, no worries--my only complaint is those stupid little plug things that sometimes make a connection and sometimes don't. If there are any alternatives, let me know. I've had to run a line of solder down the dumb pins on almost every lamp I use. Tedious and frustrating. They're clunky and bright white and glaring. I paint all the cords dark too. That helps.

Judie - Daytona Beach, FL