Wooden shingles, hart's tongue, dark – real wood veneer

The nativity stable is up, the little house is built – only the roof still looks bare. With these hart's tongue wooden shingles, you cover it row by row. In the end it looks like a real old shingle roof. These delicate roof shingles in dark real wood veneer are made for your model-making project. They are thin enough to overlap neatly. And they are sturdy enough for gluing and painting.

What changes for you

• Your model roof looks true to the original rather than homemade. Each shingle is precisely laser cut, so the rows sit neatly against each other.
• You can carry on working without sanding. The laser cut leaves smooth edges.
• You are free to design as you like. The wood is untreated and can be glued, painted, oiled or decorated.
• You will find the right size for every project. Choose from 28 sizes, from tiny nativity shingles to large decorative pieces.
• You get a natural product with character. Each shingle shows its own grain, and no two pieces are the same.

Why these wooden shingles make a real difference

The roof defines the character of a model. It is the many small, overlapping shingles that give a nativity stable, house or Christmas pyramid that calm, handcrafted look. Instead of making do with paper or plastic, you work with real wood. And you can see that in the finished piece. Thanks to the real wood, your work looks carefully made, whether on the Christmas table or in a display cabinet.

Material & finish

The shingles are made of dark real wood veneer with a thickness of approx. 0.6 to 1 mm. That is fine enough for realistic rows of shingles, yet they keep their shape when glued. We laser cut them to order in our own production in Pößneck, Thuringia. They are neatly finished with smooth edges. The wood is untreated, neither varnished nor glazed. Differences in colour, fine structures in the grain and small knots are part of a genuine natural material. This is exactly what makes every roof one of a kind.

Dimensions & technical details

• Material: real wood veneer, dark
• Material thickness: approx. 0.6–1 mm
• Shape: hart's tongue (rounded, tongue-shaped end)
• Dimensions: from 15 mm x 7.5 mm to 150 mm x 75 mm, available in 28 sizes
• Cut: laser cut, smooth edges
• Surface: untreated, not varnished or glazed
• Made in Thuringia, Germany

How to use the veneer shingles

• For nativity scenes: you cover the stable roof in overlapping rows from bottom to top. This gives the nativity scene its rustic, authentic character.
• For model making: houses, turrets and mills get a true-to-scale shingle roof that stands out in the diorama.
• For decorating: you can glue the dark wooden shingles onto boxes, picture frames or door wreaths. They look calm and subtle on both light and dark backgrounds.
• For painting and embellishing: the untreated surface takes paint well, so you can create your own patterns and shades.
• In shops or at the Christmas market: with their dark wood grain, the shingles fit easily into winter window and counter displays.
• Our tip for the Christmas season: Around Christmas, the small sizes are especially popular. You can use them, for example, to cover the roof of a Christmas pyramid row by row, just like the original.

Good to know about the hart's tongue

The hart's tongue shape gets its name from its curved, rounded, tongue-like tip. This shape is known from traditional shingle and tile roofs, where the curves create an even, scale-like pattern. That is exactly why model roofs with hart's tongue shingles come so close to the historical original.

Care & durability

There is not much you need to do. In their natural state, the shingles are meant for indoor use. There they keep their look for a long time without any further treatment. If your project is going outdoors, treat the wood beforehand, for example by oiling it. That way it can withstand wind and weather.

Options & what's included

• 28 sizes to choose from: from 15 mm x 7.5 mm to 150 mm x 75 mm
• Choice of quantity: you order exactly the number of pieces your project needs
• Contents: shingles in the selected pack size

Frequently asked questions

Can I use the shingles outdoors? In their natural state, they are only suitable for indoor use. For outdoor use, you need to treat the wood first, for example by oiling it.

Can the shingles be painted or glued? Yes. The veneer is untreated and can be glued, painted, oiled or decorated.

Why don't all the shingles look the same? Wood is a purely natural material. Brightness, grain and small knots vary from piece to piece. This is not a defect. It makes every shingle unique.

Do I need to finish the edges? No. The shingles are precisely laser cut and have smooth edges. You can use them straight away.

Are the shingles kept in stock? They are precisely laser cut after you order. So you get exactly the size and quantity you selected.

Veneer and laser cutting are only the means. What counts is the moment you lay the last row of shingles and step back. And your roof looks as if a carpenter had laid it. Simply choose the size and quantity that suit your project.