Red Iron Oxide vs Dark Flesh Tone

How close are they?

ΔE 6.9, close: similar, with a visible difference side by side. Dark Flesh Tone is more muted than Red Iron Oxide. They are different kinds of paint: Pro Acryl Red Iron Oxide is a technical paint or medium and Vallejo Dark Flesh Tone is an opaque base/layer paint, so they won’t behave the same on the model even where the colour is close.

Can I use Dark Flesh Tone instead of Red Iron Oxide?

Usually, if you are not matching paint already on the model. Close match (ΔE 7). Dark Flesh Tone is more muted than Red Iron Oxide. They are different kinds of paint.

Can I use Red Iron Oxide instead of Dark Flesh Tone?

The same difference applies the other way round: Red Iron Oxide is more saturated.

ΔE is the colour difference between our two swatch estimates: under 2 is a perfect match (you’d struggle to tell them apart), under 6 very close, under 10 close, under 15 fair, under 20 loose, under 30 very loose, and 30 or more a poor match. Real paints also differ in finish, coverage and how they thin, so test before you commit.