Paints › Army Painter › Shadow Thorn › vs Royal BlueShadow Thorn vs Royal Blue
Brand Army Painter Range John Blanche Vol. 1-4 Code Vol. 3 Type an opaque base/layer paint Swatch #003f5e (estimate)
Brand Tamiya Range X Gloss Acrylic Code X-3 Type an opaque base/layer paint Swatch #2f3e67 (estimate) How close are they?
ΔE 12.5, fair: the same colour family, but not a straight swap. Royal Blue is warmer than Shadow Thorn.
Can I use Royal Blue instead of Shadow Thorn? Only where an exact match doesn’t matter, such as a new unit or a highlight. Fair match (ΔE 12). Royal Blue is warmer than Shadow Thorn.
Can I use Shadow Thorn instead of Royal Blue? The same difference applies the other way round: Shadow Thorn is cooler.
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 Shadow Thorn on the colour wheel See Royal Blue on the colour wheel
Other Tamiya paints close to Shadow Thorn Other Army Painter paints close to Royal Blue All matches: Shadow Thorn equivalents · Royal Blue 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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