"Modern" is subjective... Pants, shirts, dresses, and coats are a painting issue, not a construction problem...
Plenty of model railroad figures from the 1800s through today... I've used many a civilian figure, male and female, from the model RR section in military dioramas... O-scale mostly, but period clothing is kinda what the RR figure makers do, Smeagol... Wasn't hard at all to find a couple "Doughnut Dollies" for a USO scene in England in '44 and some "Rosie the Riveter" gals for a factory in '42 in my earlier dios...
They all take a little work, sure, but you can buy 10 of 'em for the price of a pair Verlinden figures... Think outside the box, pard...