Nato Black sits in the black family: very dark in tone, muted in saturation, neutral in cast. This is a common color; 7 other brands cover it, the nearest being Monument Pro Acryl Carbon Black at 91 percent. Within the AK Interactive range it ladders cleanly, Ral 7021 Dunkelgrau for the shadows and Reddish Black for the highlights. In practice you can substitute across brands here without anyone noticing at arm's length.
Nato Black equivalents in other ranges
No brand clones Nato Black outright, but 3 ranges come close enough to swap. The best candidate from each catalog:
- Closest Monument Pro Acryl equivalent: Monument Pro Acryl Carbon Black, close enough that batch variation matters more (delta E 1.7).
- Best The Army Painter option: The Army Painter Night Sky, a swap nobody spots at arm's length (delta E 1.8).
- From Tamiya: Tamiya Semi Gloss Black, close enough that batch variation matters more (delta E 1.9).
- Vallejo's closest color: Vallejo Glossy Black, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 3.1).
- Nearest in the Scale75 catalog: Scale75 Abyssal Blue, a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 3.2).
- Best Humbrol option: Humbrol Black, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 3.7).
Side by side the two agree in lightness and temperature; at delta E 1.7 the gap is smaller than the variation between two pots of the same paint.
How to read the score
90+Close
80sUsable
<70Mix
Monument Pro Acryl
The Army Painter
Tamiya
Vallejo
Scale75
Humbrol
Revell
Green Stuff World
Citadel
P3 Paints
Two Thin Coats
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Match difficulty
Found in 7 other brands with a same-finish match.
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to AK Interactive Nato Black?
The closest same-finish match is Monument Pro Acryl Carbon Black at 91% color similarity.
Is there a The Army Painter equivalent of Nato Black?
Yes. The closest The Army Painter option is Night Sky at 91%, a same-finish match.
What color is Nato Black?
Nato Black is a very dark muted black with a neutral cast (hex #262425).
What do I highlight and shade Nato Black with?
Highlight Nato Black toward Reddish Black and shade it down into Ral 7021 Dunkelgrau, both AK Interactive paints in the same finish family.