Paints › Army Painter › Fairy Dust › vs Tarnished SteelFairy Dust vs Tarnished Steel
Brand Army Painter Range Warpaints Air Type a metallic Swatch #c8c8d0 (estimate)
Brand Reaper Range MSP Metallics Code 09206 Type a metallic Swatch #9e9c9b (estimate) How close are they?
ΔE 17.0, loose: different enough that you should pick on purpose. Tarnished Steel is noticeably darker than Fairy Dust.
Can I use Tarnished Steel instead of Fairy Dust? Not as a straight swap; see the closer alternatives below. Loose match (ΔE 17). Tarnished Steel is noticeably darker than Fairy Dust.
Can I use Fairy Dust instead of Tarnished Steel? The same difference applies the other way round: Fairy Dust is noticeably lighter.
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 Fairy Dust on the colour wheel See Tarnished Steel on the colour wheel
Other Reaper paints close to Fairy Dust Other Army Painter paints close to Tarnished Steel All matches: Fairy Dust equivalents · Tarnished Steel 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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