Wigan Mining Monument – Scanned with the Creality Otter

I stopped by Wigan today to scan the Wigan Mining Monument, a powerful tribute to the town’s coal mining past. The full scan took around 22 minutes using the Creality Otter and wireless bridge.

It came out really well overall the tray in the lady’s hand didn’t scan perfectly, but it’s fixable with a bit of cleanup. The rest of the model captured nicely, especially the miner’s face and the clothing detail on all three figures.

The statue, found on Library Street in Wigan, features a miner, a pit-brow lass, and a young boy three generations symbolising the town’s mining heritage. It was created by sculptor Steve Winterburn and officially unveiled in September 2021, after being delayed by the pandemic.

The monument was funded by the local charity Wigan Heritage and Mining Monument (WHAMM) as a lasting memorial to the thousands of men, women, and children who worked in Wigan’s pits over three centuries. At one point, the area was home to more than a thousand coal shafts, making Wigan one of the biggest mining regions in the old Lancashire coalfield.

What makes this sculpture stand out is that it isn’t placed on a plinth the figures stand directly on the cobbles, as if walking alongside you. It’s a thoughtful touch that connects today’s visitors with the generations who lived and worked underground here.

If you’re into 3D scanning, this one’s a great subject there’s plenty of open space around it, and the figures are at an ideal height for handheld scanning.

Scanned with: Creality CR-Scan Otter + Wireless Bridge