No shortage of substitutes here, Abyssal Blue from The Army Painter matches at 94 percent and 4 brands carry a strong same-finish near-match. Thousand Sons Blue sits in the blue family: dark in tone, vivid in saturation, cool in cast. It builds a smooth gradient with Mechanicus Standard Grey underneath and Alaitoc Blue on the highlights, all in the Citadel line. In practice you can substitute across brands here without anyone noticing at arm's length.
Thousand Sons Blue equivalents in other ranges
1 of the 9 brands with a mapped match get genuinely close to Citadel Thousand Sons Blue, though none is a clone. Brand by brand, the nearest colors are:
- Closest The Army Painter equivalent: The Army Painter Abyssal Blue, close enough that batch variation matters more (delta E 1.2).
- Nearest in the Humbrol catalog: Humbrol Sea Blue, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 2.6).
- Best Revell option: Revell Grünblau (RAL 5001), a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 2.7).
- From Monument Pro Acryl: Monument Pro Acryl Dark Turquoise, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 3.5).
- Vallejo's closest color: Vallejo Turquoise, workable at tabletop distance, not up close (delta E 4.9).
- Nearest in the Scale75 catalog: Scale75 Cantabric Blue, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 5.2).
Side by side the two agree in lightness and temperature; at delta E 1.2 the gap is smaller than the variation between two pots of the same paint.
How to read the score
90+Close
80sUsable
<70Mix
The Army Painter
Humbrol
Revell
Monument Pro Acryl
Vallejo
Scale75
P3 Paints
AK Interactive
Two Thin Coats
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Pairs well with
Try any paint in the scheme toolMatch difficulty
Found in 4 other brands with a same-finish match.
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to Citadel Thousand Sons Blue?
The closest same-finish match is The Army Painter Abyssal Blue at 94% color similarity.
What color is Thousand Sons Blue?
Thousand Sons Blue is a dark vivid blue with a cool undertone (hex #00506F).
What do I highlight and shade Thousand Sons Blue with?
Highlight Thousand Sons Blue toward Alaitoc Blue and shade it down into Mechanicus Standard Grey, both Citadel paints in the same finish family.