3D Filament color match to Bruder

[ddmckee54]

I'm trying to find a 1.75mm PLA filament that's a close color match to the plastic Bruder uses in their injection molding.

I've been trying to find a close match to the red they use for my Manitou 2150 RC conversion. I've found a lot that aren't red enough, I've got three or four 1Kg spools of various shades of red to use up now. I bought a spool of what was claimed to be the REDDEST red available - it's called Enzo red. Looked great on the screen, in real life on the spool - not so much!(Couldn't tell the difference between the Enzo red and the bargain basement Solid red.) I found that E-Sun's Fire Engine Red is TOOOOO red, it needs a little yellow. But, it's close enough I can live with it if I have to.

I got the Manitou 2150 at a bargain price, but it was missing few pieces - among the missing was a fender. The only replacement piece I couldn't get from Bruder was the fender, so I printed all four fenders in the grey that I had. The grey that I've got is a little too light, but it also is close enough that I can live with it.

I've got models on the shelf waiting for future conversion where I'll need the yellow that they use for their CAT models and their Liebherr models. Who knows, there might even be a need for a John Deere green in the future. (Even though I was raised on IH red and Ford blue.)

So, anybody know of any close filament matches in PLA? I'm not set up to do ABS, and I don't want to have to deal with the smell in my living room where the printers are.

Don

[skeeter]

I as well am curious about this.
Commenting to bump the thread to nearer the top. I have several parts that I'd like to 3D print, but would love to match the color of filament to the machine I'm trying to work on!

[ddmckee54]

Your response was about the only one I've ever gotten, on any of the forums I posted this on. I'm still looking for a match to the Bruder red. The E-sun Fire Engine Red might be a close match to IH red, I'll have to check when I get home tonight.

I ordered a spool of Golden Yellow, I think that was also from E-sun, to see how close it was the Bruder's CAT yellow. But it needs to be a little more golden and a lot less yellow.

I don't have anything in JD green, so I've got no clue what filament would be a good match.

Don

[ddmckee54]

I just did a search for "caterpillar yellow" filament, and found this: https://coexllc.com/product/3d-filam...pla-175mm-1kg/

Looks good on the screen, I'm checking to see if I can get a sample to test it for a color match.

Don

[ddmckee54]

For what it's worth, the E-sun Fire Engine Red is a pretty close match to IH Red. It's not an exact match, but it's good enuf for gubmint work. It'll work for the future IH Quad-Trak modifications.

Coexllc is sending me samples of their Construction Yellow and Taxicab Yellow. MatterHackers didn't have any samples of the Antares Red available at this time.

Don

[ddmckee54]

Well, I've got GOOD news, and I've got BAD news. I heard back from MatterHackers. The GOOD news is that they've got a vendor that can do a custom color, matching somebody else's existing color. The BAD news, that requires a minimum order of 36 spools. I don't think I'm going to be getting any custom colors created, I RARELY order more than 1-2 spools of any one color at a time.

Don

[ddmckee54]

More good news, maybe. Coellx is also sending me a couple of samples of different colors of red.

Maybe we'll get a match, they definitely seem willing to work with you. Their prices are more than I'd like to pay. But if they're willing to send me samples, and they've got a color that matches - I know who I'll go with.

Don

[ddmckee54]

I got the samples from Coexllc, two different yellows and two different reds. The yellows aren't even close, but one of the reds is a fair match to the Bruder red.

I took a couple of pictures of each comparison, one with flash, and one without flash. This is the link to those pictures.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...dtbHFISVBmRWdn

The first image is is the yellow samples laying on top of the Bruder yellow without flash. The sample on the left is the Taxicab yellow, the sample on the right is the Construction yellow.

The second image is the same setup, only with flash.

The third image is the red samples laying on top of the Bruder red without flash. The sample on the left is the Salsa red, the sample on the right is the Scarlet red.

The forth image is the same setup only with flash.


This is the first time I've tried to post photos, so I'm not sure I'm doing this right.
Don

[jerry56]

Yeah you have to host the images on something like flicker ( what I use cause it's free)

[ddmckee54]

I fixed the link to the images, now I've got to figure out how to embed the images in the text.

The Coexllc Scarlet Red is a pretty good match to the Bruder red, it's not perfect, but it's closer than anything else I've tried.

The Bruder yellow is not a match to CAT yellow. Coexllc's Construction Yellow would be a good match to CAT yellow, but it's not close to Bruder's yellow. Maybe I need to start looking for a School-bus yellow?

Don

[ddmckee54]

This is mostly a test. If this works, the following SHOIULD be an image of a comparison of 2 yellow filament samples from Coexllc with the Bruder yellow -with flash. The sample on hte left is the Taxi-cab yellow, and the sample on the right is the Construction yellow


Edit - OK, that worked so here's the rest

This is the same setup only without flash.


As you can see, neither sample is a good match to the Bruder yellow. In decent light, the Taxi-cab yellow is WAY too light, and the Construction yellow is too dark. In lower light levels it looks pretty good but... If the Bruder yellow actually had been CAT yellow, then the Coexllc Construction yellow would have been a good match. I think I need to look for something more like school-bus yellow/chrome yellow?

The next image is 2 red filament samples and the Bruder red - without flash. The sample on the left is the Salsa red and the sample on the right is the Scarlet red.


This is the same setup only with flash.


The Salsa is not a good match, but the Scarlet is closer than anything I've found so far. I think it's still a little light, but I can live with it. FYI - I checked it against a couple of die-cast IH/Farmall models that I had and it's a pretty good match for them too. (They're future projects.)

Don

[frizzen]

For bruder Cats i mostly like the looks of that Constuction yellow, but i'd add a step after printing to do a Wash or Drybrush of some grime or rusty colors onto the part.

Would you mind doing a walk-through of "how to post images from google" in one of the many post picture threads?

[ddmckee54]

frizzen:

I think I'll look for something a little lighter. So far every other yellow has been too light, looked more like the Taxi-cab yellow. I think the Coexllc Construction yellow would be a close match to CAT's actual yellow color. If I can't find any closer color match to Bruder I could live with it, especially with a little weathering.

I was thinking about adding those instructions. There's a copule of stickies for posting pictures, none ot them quite matched what I had to do. I read through the picture posting instructions from Google drive. But, when I tried it I didn't get the same options as were listed. I'll find where that those were posted and add it there. I'm not sure, but it MIGHT make a difference to the instructions what your browser of choice is.

Don

[dremu]

You might take a gander around Paramount's offerings ( https://www.paramount-3d.com/ ) as they have a wide range of colors, and IIRC they have Pantone numbers or RGB values or something listed.

I have found that their filament requires weird temperatures, particularly their PLA wants **** near ABS temperature. BUT they have colors I couldn't get elsewhere, like OD green and desert khaki for my military builds.

[ddmckee54]

I've got a spool of their Enzo red and I'm printing with it now, it wasn't a close match for the Bruder red either. I haven't had any problems with it, but I normally print on the high end of the temperature range anyway, around 220° C. My printer seems happier and doesn't talk back as much when I do that.

Don

[skeeter]

The Scarlet Red look sclose enough of a match that it just may work for teh Bruder red!

[skeeter]

I moved from the house we had leased for 8 years. The owner sold teh property, & the new owners plans didn't include me rentign the house anymore. The 13 acres will be developed into 68 houses shortly.

With moving, I lost the spare room I had for working on hobby stuff, as well as a workshop/garage. HOPEFULLY within 2-3 years I'll buy a place that allows me to get full force back into RC stuff again!

[ddmckee54]

Skeeter:

I agree on the CoexLLC Scarlet being a good-enuf match for the Bruder Red, I've got a spool of it ordered and I should get it in a few days.

On another website I found a reference to an Inland yellow PLA being a good match to the Bruder yellow. I saw a couple of pictures of objects printed in that color and it looked close enough that I ordered a spool of it. It also should be here in a few days.

When I get the spools I'll print out some test cubes and see how close of a match they really are.

Don

[skeeter]

I'm excited to see how well the yellow does match the Bruder livery!

[ddmckee54]

I ordered a spool of the "scarlet", but I think I may have screwed up on who I ordered it from, because it's not even close to the sample. I'll use it somewhere, I'm printing out parts for stuff in my shop so I can use it there. Dust collector parts, CNC router parts, little stuff like that.

I did order another spool of the CoexLLC "scarlet red", I made sure I was ordering from the right place this time, but it hasn't arrived yet. I don't want to open the vacuum packs until I'm ready to use the filament, but I REALLY want to see how close a match I get when I print something. I suppose this is just one more justification for buying one of those vacuum pack food-savers. I mean protecting your filament is a really GOOD reason - right?

Don