Paints › AK Interactive › Soft Black › vs NATO BlackSoft Black vs NATO Black
Brand AK Interactive Range AK Quick Gen Code AK17050 Type an opaque base/layer paint Swatch #2a2a2c (estimate)
Brand Vallejo Range Model Air Code 71.251 Type an opaque base/layer paint Swatch #28282b (estimate) How close are they?
ΔE 1.2, very close: most people won’t see a difference side by side. Our swatches for the two are almost the same.
Can I use NATO Black instead of Soft Black? Yes, for most jobs. Very close match (ΔE 1). The swatches are almost the same.
Can I use Soft Black instead of NATO Black? 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 Soft Black on the colour wheel See NATO Black on the colour wheel
Other Vallejo paints close to Soft Black Other AK Interactive paints close to NATO Black All matches: Soft Black equivalents · NATO Black 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.
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