Paints › Army Painter › Steel › vs Starship SteelSteel vs Starship Steel
Brand Army Painter Range Warpaints Historical Code WP4038P Type a metallic Swatch #5a5a5e (estimate)
Brand Vallejo Range Xpress Color Code 72.462 Type a metallic Swatch #3c5d64 (estimate) How close are they?
ΔE 12.2, fair: the same colour family, but not a straight swap. Starship Steel is more saturated than Steel.
Can I use Starship Steel instead of Steel? Only where an exact match doesn’t matter, such as a new unit or a highlight. Fair match (ΔE 12). Starship Steel is more saturated than Steel.
Can I use Steel instead of Starship Steel? The same difference applies the other way round: Steel is more muted.
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 Steel on the colour wheel See Starship Steel on the colour wheel
Other Vallejo paints close to Steel Other Army Painter paints close to Starship Steel All matches: Steel equivalents · Starship 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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