An eBay Find

I am always on the lookout for inexpensive, and if possible, pre-painted ,Victorian-era civilians to serve in Victorian Science Fiction or Great Game scenarios. I also am keen on the idea of staging vignettes of the sort regularly seen on the The Duchy of Tradgardland. So, as I often like to couch these things in terms of a certain inevitability, when I stumbled upon the William Britain's Masters of Science range, and this figure of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in particular, money and fool were soon parted.

He's a bit short of stature compared to Armies in Plastic and such, but the real Brunel was but 5' tall, so it's quite accurate.

Of course, I have rechristened this good fellow to serve my own purposes.  Please allow me to introduce Professor Blackwood, late of Hull, proprietor of Blackwood Steamworks.

Lady Pennington, fresh from her return from her recent and much heralded expedition in Central Asia, discusses suggested improvements of the Gatling gun with the noted inventor and industrialist, Professor Blackwood.