One of the smaller projects I have been working on for the quarry layout is creating a range of OO9 quarry workers.

The aim is to make figures that actually look like they belong in an industrial narrow-gauge setting rather than using generic railway staff. I have been looking at old quarry photographs to get the clothing, tools and working poses right.

The biggest challenge is scale. Details that look fine on screen can disappear once printed, so things like jacket folds, hats, hands and tools sometimes need to be made slightly stronger so they remain visible and durable.

I am also trying to make the figures look natural rather than too posed. Workers leaning on tools, loading wagons, carrying timber, driving locomotives or simply standing around talking all help bring a layout to life.

The plan is to build up a larger range over time, with different heights, clothing, tools and poses so that a quarry scene does not look like it has been populated by the same few people over and over again.

It is a small detail, but adding the right workers makes a huge difference to the atmosphere of an industrial railway.