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-filaments/pla-filament/pla/construction-yellow-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/AF1QipP5hLy8u-fvb_9S0Ml3c6rScg0ujC3NpLB5-0nAGvbQLKpj9ReU2jJXHxPfqwbj_Q/photo/AF1QipPNlcyK7d-OB_9h1vkG4FIaAGW6QGI6yc81xpNX?key=czlEa25LSUtncGpF eFdzMm1wd0dtbHFISVBmRWdn

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
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dnBGycSPXrncrTUNtiog_xXlC_-TkCT3VxI9iJ7ygsyMUd7W2SblSrVXugKApPbRu00A3LDu8CdCa uNHRsqDUaAVzFIk7joj0lKS6W69LGTT14kf5ucU7q5aR2r24ur pAn1nepMUME1ZKeWZ6qjiQ6=w560-h420-no?authuser=0

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

This is the same setup only without flash.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dpJfh-UUqppOYCNeZtJ2oc9ce0E0vNdp-wOj4OM2qjTDJIjypL5ZW8LHqDhh4NLVBeWaO-o5nPj-KIMLdLvzzwtEeWFHBKh_O3xfUVi5l22Z_cHmpSI9d0ye73zY4y ZX0FITPeL4iRutrQh37u8wux=w560-h420-no?authuser=0

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.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3e4sqswsMR6sxuOOSpB0Y7y6_vJRnFGdMJzkGVeqIPhaWwZity T_IfxwEI3EIa_8iLBOfptx__TX6KqhZqJy3vMu6AU7xOTg34EC UxAR94OFJr_jamqQX1yDaa6UqaLhcWx9bvuQRYqpw7RyPV3dL0 K=w560-h420-no?authuser=0

This is the same setup only with flash.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cZYpyMCGa4c18uXVJ7QB2GmQJbP6yMHGWNjbPF7k6TG4oQYA8 5fIWmn0DTsCYA_UzLj4N53CMajm24a1x-NTq5zIrZnYAkt_R-Kk4-TO_eI2bO3WQVKJmmb5hFGHA0f1qEPd_bNu-QcqfBO58n35CC=w560-h420-no?authuser=0

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

[skeeter]

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

YEPPERS! That filament oz for ounce cost more than do most foods! Protecting the investment in filament sounds like a good enough reason to buy a vacuume saver to me.

[ddmckee54]

I got to looking through the Pantone color chart, searching for a close match to the Bruder color, and then searched for a filament with that color. Here's the Pantone color chart: https://www.pantone.com/color-finder I think the 3546 C is a close match to the Bruder red, and I'm thinking that the 7549 C might be a good match for the Bruder yellow used on thier construction equipment. What do you guys think?

Matterhackers has a Pantone 3546 C red that looks pretty close to the Bruder red, and The also have a Pantone 7549 C that could be a match to the Bruder yellow. I asked if it would be possible to get a sample of both the red and the yellow. I think I've asked Matterhackers for samples before but I don't remember for sure.

Don

[skeeter]

Unboxing the newest addition to the fleet!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLFmFX991yo

[ddmckee54]

For you guys on the Eastern side of the pond, I found a reference in thingiverse for a filament that looks good.https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3308068

It's 3dk.berlin Dahlia yellow filament and looks to be a good match for Bruder yellow.

I've contacted them about USA sellers, and/or cost for shipping to the Western side of the pond - I'll let you know what I find out.

Don

[ddmckee54]

Been a while since I updated this thread.

Matterhackers was a no on the samples. They did recently list a Pantone red that MIGHT be close, I pulled the trigger on a spool of that color. There's another Pantone red color that might also be close. I'll see how close the color of first spool gets, that'll let me know how close my monitor is to the Pantone color codes and how far out of whack my MK. I eyeball is.

I got an answer back from 3dk.berlin about the Dahlia yellow, no US sellers - but they'd be more than happy to ship to the US. Looks like the price would be about $40-$50 for 1KG plus shipping - which isn't really that far out of line depending on the shipping. I REALLY have to remember to stop at the UPS store and find out what the approximate shipping would be.

Don

[ddmckee54]

OKEEY-DOKEE, the Matterhackers spool of red arrived today, it's Pantone 3546 C. It's a nice red, but it's not really a close match. It's too something, bright might be the best word. It's more of a Radio-Flyer, little red wagon color. It's a nice color and I'll definitely make stuff out of it, just not the parts I want to make.

Looking at the Pantone color chart, the Pantone 3517 C color looks like it might be a good match. The only problem is that nobody makes a filament in that particular color. Pantone 199 C is darker yet, and also looked like a possibility. I even found vendors that offer that color. Unfortunately e-sun is one of those vendors and they call that color Fire Engine Red. Been there, ordered that, and I've got the spool in my stash of reds - it's too dark. Most of the "red" filaments appear to be close to if not the same color as Pantone 3546 C. I need something about halfway in between Pantone 3546 C and 199 C.

I stopped at the UPS store to find out how much it would cost to ship a 1 Kg package from my house to Berlin. I figured that if it wasn't too outrageous I'd go ahead and pull the trigger on a spool of Dahlia Yellow from 3DK.BERLIN. I knew it would be expensive, but almost $150 for shipping? I don't think so Tim. I'll swing by the post office sometime and see what their rates would be.

The search continues.

Don

[skeeter]

OKEEY-DOKEE............................................. ..
I stopped at the UPS store to find out how much it would cost to ship a 1 Kg package from my house to Berlin. I figured that if it wasn't too outrageous I'd go ahead and pull the trigger on a spool of Dahlia Yellow from 3DK.BERLIN. I knew it would be expensive, but almost $150 for shipping? I don't think so Tim. I'll swing by the post office sometime and see what their rates would be.

The search continues.

Don


WOWZERS! 150 for shipping is insane!

[ddmckee54]

The Matterhacker's Pantone 3546C is about as close of a match as I can find to the Bruder red, but it only comes in a 0.75Kg spool.

I said I wasn't going to do it again, but I ordered ANOTHER spool of a different shade of red hoping for the best. This time it was Paramount's "Iron Red", there was no joy in Mudville as I struck out again - more of a red wine color.

Coex has a different shade of yellow, "Green Bay yellow" that I've requested a sample of. It's darker than their True yellow, but lighter than their "Construction yellow", so it MIGHT be a close match to the Bruder yellow. The Bruder yellow is darker the the spool of "True yellow" that I've got, and lighter than the "Construction yellow" sample that I've got - might be as close a match as I'll find.

Don

[ddmckee54]

I got the sample of "Green Bay" yellow from COEX yesterday. The Green Bay yellow and the Construction yellow kind of fall on opposite sides of the spectrum to the yellow that Bruder uses. The green Bay is too light and actually has an orangish tint to it, while the Construction yellow is too dark and has a bit of a brown tint. Of the 2 colors, I think Construction yellow will be the winner - IF they still make it. But I think they do, the last time I looked on-line it was still available.

I found that Paramount's Pantone 3546C is an almost exact match to the Bruder red, it's a bit lighter, but it's only available in 0.75Kg spools. I had a spool of Paramount's Enzo red and really liked it. I liked it so much I used it on other projects to the point where, when I got done printing the last part I only had about 6" of filament left. When I tried ordering another roll, I found that they were no longer offering that color. I later found out that they had so many requests that they made more of the color - but they gave it a different name. (Maybe Ferrari had a hissy-fit about the Enzo red?) I'll stick with the Pantone 3546C, it'll ALWAYS be Pantone 3546C.

The roll of Scarlet that I ordered from COEX did not match the Scarlet sample that I got from them. At first I thought I screwed up and ordered the wrong color, so I ordered ANOTHER roll. I didn't screw up, apparently they changed their color formula. For a while EVERYTHING got printed in Scarlet, I finally got both rolls used up.

Don

[skeeter]

For a while EVERYTHING got printed in Scarlet, I finally got both rolls used up.


LOL!:lol:

I know that feeling. More than once I forgot that i already ordered a spool, & clicked to order another one.

[ddmckee54]

Yup, I've got most of a roll of "Iron Red" to use up. And then an unopened roll of "True Yellow" that I'll have to use for something.

You gotta wonder who comes up with these names. And if they were drunk, or stoned when they came up with them. I can almost see them now, sitting around in a circle, passing a fat one around, when someone yells... "OOH. OOH, I got one."