Paints › AK Interactive › NATO Black › vs The DarknessNATO Black vs The Darkness
Brand AK Interactive Range 3rd Gen AFV Series Code AK11360 Type an opaque base/layer paint Swatch #1b1d22 (estimate)
Brand Army Painter Range John Blanche Vol. 1-4 Code Vol. 1 Type an opaque base/layer paint Swatch #182128 (estimate) How close are they?
ΔE 3.5, very close: most people won’t see a difference side by side. Our swatches for the two are almost the same.
Can I use The Darkness instead of NATO Black? Yes, for most jobs. Very close match (ΔE 4). The swatches are almost the same.
Can I use NATO Black instead of The Darkness? The same difference applies the other way round.
ΔE is the colour difference between our two swatch estimates: under about 6 is close, over about 15 is loose. Real paints also differ in finish, coverage and how they thin, so test before you commit.
See NATO Black on the colour wheel See The Darkness on the colour wheel
Other Army Painter paints close to NATO Black Other AK Interactive paints close to The Darkness All matches: NATO Black equivalents · The Darkness equivalents
© 2026 AK Tabletop Studio. Swatch colours are estimates and will differ from the real paints; cross-brand matches are close, never exact.
Chart-listed matches come from the Two Thin Coats Paint Comparison Chart 2024, the Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic conversion chart, the AK 3rd Generation Acrylics equivalence table (2021) and the Herrick Games hobby paint comparison chart; the rest are a nearest-colour calculation.
The Painters Desk is unofficial and not affiliated with or endorsed by any paint brand. Paint names are trademarks of their owners.
All brands · Guides · Privacy policy · Site rules
Choose a theme Changes how the site looks on this device. Paint colours stay the same.
Paint Pot The original. Follows your light or dark setting. NEON 1984 80s cyberpunk with a synthwave grid. Grimdark Gothic iron, brass and hive spires. Wildwood Misty pines and morning light. DWARVEN Jade peaks, gold rims and forge light. Eldritch Abyss Deep-sea glow, tentacles and runes. Arcane Library Parchment and a celestial chart. FROSTFORGE Ice peaks, aurora and a glowing forge. Infernal Black rock, lava glow and embers. Hobby Bench A painting desk on a cutting mat. Japanese Ink Washi paper, ink-wash mountains and a red sun. Desert Wastes Rust, sand and sun-bleached metal. Sci-fi Lab Clean white, teal and blueprints. Steampunk Workshop Brass pipes, gears and lamplight. Egyptian Tomb Pyramids at dusk, lapis and gold. Void Station Deep space above a blue world.
Done