Paints › Reaper › Shadowed Steel › vs Rusty MetalShadowed Steel vs Rusty Metal
Brand Reaper Range MSP Metallics Code 09052 Type a metallic Swatch #3b3938 (estimate)
Brand Vallejo Range True Metallic Metal Code 77.158 Shade Type a metallic Swatch #423d37 (estimate) How close are they?
ΔE 4.1, very close: most people won’t see a difference side by side. Our swatches for the two are almost the same.
Can I use Rusty Metal instead of Shadowed Steel? Yes, for most jobs. Very close match (ΔE 4). The swatches are almost the same.
Can I use Shadowed Steel instead of Rusty Metal? The same difference applies the other way round.
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 Shadowed Steel on the colour wheel See Rusty Metal on the colour wheel
Other Vallejo paints close to Shadowed Steel Other Reaper paints close to Rusty Metal All matches: Shadowed Steel equivalents · Rusty Metal 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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