Paints › Army Painter › Royal Purple › vs Shadowed SteelRoyal Purple vs Shadowed Steel
Brand Army Painter Range Warpaints Air Type a metallic Swatch #5a1a70 (estimate)
Brand Reaper Range MSP Metallics Code 09052 Type a metallic Swatch #3b3938 (estimate) How close are they?
ΔE 55.8, loose: different enough that you should pick on purpose. Shadowed Steel is much more muted than Royal Purple.
Can I use Shadowed Steel instead of Royal Purple? Not as a straight swap; see the closer alternatives below. Loose match (ΔE 56). Shadowed Steel is much more muted than Royal Purple.
Can I use Royal Purple instead of Shadowed Steel? The same difference applies the other way round: Royal Purple 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 Royal Purple on the colour wheel See Shadowed Steel on the colour wheel
Other Reaper paints close to Royal Purple Other Army Painter paints close to Shadowed Steel All matches: Royal Purple equivalents · Shadowed 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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