Blue sits in the blue family: dark in tone, vivid in saturation, cool in cast. For modelling, drop to Sea Blue in the recesses and step up to French Blue on the edges, both Humbrol paints. Substitutes are thinner on the ground; The Army Painter Regal Blue is the nearest same-finish option at 90 percent, with 1 brand in strong-match range. A cross-brand swap will get you most of the way, but eyeball it against the original first.
Blue equivalents in other ranges
1 of the 11 brands with a mapped match get genuinely close to Humbrol Blue, though none is a clone. Brand by brand, the nearest colors are:
- Closest The Army Painter equivalent: The Army Painter Regal Blue, close enough that batch variation matters more (delta E 1.9).
- Citadel's closest color: Citadel Alaitoc Blue, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 4.3).
- Nearest in the Vallejo catalog: Vallejo Royal Blue, workable at tabletop distance, not up close (delta E 4.3).
- Best Tamiya option: Tamiya Blue, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 4.6).
- From Green Stuff World: Green Stuff World Marine Blue, workable at tabletop distance, not up close (delta E 4.7).
- The P3 Paints pick: P3 Paints Stormguard Blue, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 4.9).
Side by side the two agree in lightness and temperature; at delta E 1.9 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
Citadel
Vallejo
Tamiya
Green Stuff World
P3 Paints
Scale75
Two Thin Coats
Monument Pro Acryl
Revell
AK Interactive
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Pairs well with
Try any paint in the scheme toolMatch difficulty
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to Humbrol Blue?
The closest same-finish match is The Army Painter Regal Blue at 90% color similarity.
What color is Blue?
Blue is a dark vivid blue with a cool undertone (hex #004B87).
What do I highlight and shade Blue with?
Highlight Blue toward French Blue and shade it down into Sea Blue, both Humbrol paints in the same finish family.