Laser cut files · SVG · DXF · paint guide
A Christmas train you cut on your own laser: a steam locomotive, a coal tender, a gift car carrying two presents and a little tree, and a passenger coach that glows from an LED tea light. Every car stands on its own piece of track, with a buffer stop, two pines and a snowman to finish the scene. There are no glued layers: every piece slots or tabs into another. This is a digital download; nothing is shipped.
$6.99 USD · 30% off until 1 Dec (was $9.99)
Buy direct (card, via Polar)Instant download: one zip with every fileEtsy listing: coming 10 Nov. Turn it around in 3D firstPolar takes the card payment and sends the download link straight away; tax for your location may be added at checkout. The price is the same as on Etsy.
All pictures are 3D renders made from the cut files, not photos of a cut kit. Paint colours are an example finish.
3D preview, the same one that comes in the zip
This model is built from the same shapes as the cut files. Drag to turn the train, slide Explode to see how the pieces fit, change the sheet thickness to watch the set resize, switch the light on and try paint colours.
Loads about 180 KB of script when you scroll here. Works offline from the zip too: open 3D-Preview/index.html.
3 mm, 1/8 in and 4 mm on 300 × 200 mm sheets; 5 mm, 6 mm and 1/4 in on 400 × 300 mm sheets; and a 3 mm set with engraved windows. DXF is R2010 in millimetres with CUT and ENGRAVE layers.
An 8-page PDF: base coats, wheels, trim and ribbons along the engraved lines, a natural-wood page, assembling the locomotive, the cars and the scenery, the light and the colour list.
Open it in any web browser, no internet needed: turn the scene, pull it apart, switch the light on, try paint colours and sheet thicknesses.
Each car's walls tab into its base on its own piece of track; the boiler is a spine with two rings, and the gifts, the tree and the coal heap are crossed panels. The software check found 0 glued and 0 loose parts.
Every file is 1:1 in millimetres. Red cuts, blue line-engraves, and the engraving comes first so a part is marked before it drops out.
Finished sizes for every thickness, fit notes and import settings in plain text, plus the licence. One zip, about 1 MB.
Sizes and sheet thickness
Locomotive length × width × height on its track, and the whole train with the buffer stop, for each set in the zip:
| Sheet | Locomotive (finished) | Whole train | Sheets to cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 mm | 134 × 86 × 81 mm (5.3 × 3.4 × 3.2 in) | 621 mm (24.4 in) | 4 × 300 × 200 mm |
| 1/8 in (3.175 mm) | 136 × 88 × 81 mm (5.4 × 3.5 × 3.2 in) | 622 mm (24.5 in) | 5 × 300 × 200 mm |
| 4 mm | 140 × 92 × 82 mm (5.5 × 3.6 × 3.2 in) | 624 mm (24.6 in) | 5 × 300 × 200 mm |
| 5 mm | 175 × 115 × 103 mm (6.9 × 4.5 × 4.1 in) | 780 mm (30.7 in) | 4 × 400 × 300 mm |
| 6 mm | 210 × 138 × 123 mm (8.3 × 5.4 × 4.8 in) | 936 mm (36.9 in) | 5 × 400 × 300 mm |
| 1/4 in (6.35 mm) | 222 × 146 × 130 mm (8.7 × 5.7 × 5.1 in) | 991 mm (39.0 in) | 6 × 400 × 300 mm |
From 5 mm the whole set grows with the sheet, so tabs, slots and the thinnest parts stay strong; those files need a 400 × 300 mm (15.7 × 11.8 in) bed. At 3 mm the cars are sized to stand next to the houses of our Christmas Slot Village (60 mm footprint).
Which files to cut: measure your sheet and pick the closest set. Do not scale the files: scaling changes the slot widths. Slots are drawn for a 0.1 mm kerf with 0.15 mm of play, so a 3 mm slot is 3.05 mm in the file and about 3.15 mm after cutting.
Every wheel, stripe, ribbon, rail and window has an engraved outline, so the details are easy: fill inside the line with a fine brush or a paint pen. Black wheels, a red buffer beam and cow-catcher, gold stripes under the roof line, ribbons on the gifts and baubles on the tree.
The guide goes from bare wood to finished in four steps: base coats, the details, slotting it together and the light. The last page lists every colour with alternatives. Paint the pieces before you assemble and keep paint off the slot walls and tabs, so the joints still fit.
Paint and the LED tea light are not included. The colours in the pictures are an example finish.
The train looks just as good unpainted: laser-cut plywood has warm brown edges and the engraving reads on bare wood. Paint only the wheels (a black paint pen is enough), then seal everything with a clear matt varnish. With the LED on, the coach still glows through the bare windows.
The paint guide has a page for this natural-wood finish, and the 3D preview has a Bare wood button so you can compare both before you cut.
Both licences include exactly the same files. Standard covers home use and selling what you cut in a small business; Extended adds unlimited and wholesale sales. The full text comes in the zip (LICENSE.txt or LICENSE-EXTENDED.txt).
For makers, gift-givers and small craft businesses
$6.99 USD · 30% off until 1 Dec (was $9.99)
Buy the Standard licenceFor workshops cutting at scale, wholesale and retail
$27.30 USD · 30% off until 1 Dec (was $39.00)
Buy the Extended licenceNot sure which licence fits your shop? Send a message before you buy.
Not yet. Every set passed an automatic fit check (all 42 tabs meet a slot, all 102 slots and slot holes are filled, no overlaps, no part thinner than twice the sheet, with every edge measured), and the 3D preview is built from the same shapes. Wood and lasers vary, so test-cut one sheet first and check that a side wall fits its base before you cut the rest.
Too tight: sand the slot lightly, never force it. Too loose: a drop of wood glue holds it. If a whole sheet is off, check that you used the file set that matches your measured sheet thickness, and that the file was imported at 100 %.
No. Battery LED tea lights only, never a candle or any open flame. The coach base has a 40 mm hole: push a standard LED tea light up through it from below.
Any laser software that imports SVG or DXF, on diode or CO2 lasers that cut plywood or MDF. The 3 mm, 1/8 in and 4 mm sets use 300 × 200 mm sheets, which fit most hobby beds; the 5 mm, 6 mm and 1/4 in sets need a 400 × 300 mm (15.7 × 11.8 in) bed.
No. Every piece slots or tabs into another, and the software check found no glued or loose parts. How firmly each joint grips depends on your wood and laser, which the test cut shows; if a joint is loose, a drop of wood glue holds it.
Yes: at 3 mm the cars are sized to stand next to the village houses, which have a 60 mm footprint. Each kit is sold on its own.
Right after payment the Polar confirmation page has a download button for the zip. Polar also emails you a receipt, and your purchase stays in its customer portal, where you sign in with the same email.
The pictures and the 3D preview are digital renders made from the cut files, not photos of a cut set.
Checked in software, not test-cut yet. Cut one sheet on scrap first, and never leave a laser unattended.
LED tea lights only. Never put a real candle in a wooden model.
MocMakes is our own shop: the Polar and Etsy links are not affiliate links.
More kits
Four light-up kits from the same shop, each with SVG and DXF files, a paint guide and a 3D preview.
