Paints › Army Painter › Moon Dust › vs Desert SandMoon Dust vs Desert Sand
Brand Army Painter Range Warpaints Legacy Type an opaque base/layer paint Swatch #ffe481 (estimate)
Brand Reaper Range Master Series Paints Code 09156 Type an opaque base/layer paint Swatch #ecdf93 (estimate) How close are they?
ΔE 13.1, fair: the same colour family, but not a straight swap. Desert Sand is much more muted than Moon Dust.
Can I use Desert Sand instead of Moon Dust? Only where an exact match doesn’t matter, such as a new unit or a highlight. Fair match (ΔE 13). Desert Sand is much more muted than Moon Dust.
Can I use Moon Dust instead of Desert Sand? The same difference applies the other way round: Moon Dust is much more saturated.
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 Moon Dust on the colour wheel See Desert Sand on the colour wheel
Other Reaper paints close to Moon Dust Other Army Painter paints close to Desert Sand All matches: Moon Dust equivalents · Desert Sand 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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