Who recognises this?
Correct. It’s John Stevenson Rhind’s famous 10ft-high bronze statue of Queen Victoria, Empress of India at the Foot of the Walk. Erected by Leith Town Council in 1907, it honours those men of the 5th Volunteer Batallion, ‘The Royal Scots’ who had fought in the Boer War.
Only it isn’t. And it doesn’t.
It is of course a finely sculpted, stonecast resin model to 1/76th scale. It comes ready painted with a 'weathered' verdigris finish atop a light sandstone-coloured pedestal.
Unfortunately, at 80mm high, you can’t prop yourself up against it on a Friday night ... unless you are a very tiny little person living in a 00-gauge model railway set.
Also in the range are an Edinburgh police box in blue and an authentic Picardy Place-style ‘Coffee Kiosk’ in maroon, both 39mm high and costing £9.55.
Harburn Hobbies’ owner Bob Baird describes himself as an 'avid reader' of the Spurtle, but has no plans to commission a 1/76th scale version of the monthly paper edition just now.
