German Grey sits in the grey family: dark in tone, muted in saturation, neutral in cast. No shortage of substitutes here, Blackroot Grey from Green Stuff World matches at 91 percent and 6 brands carry a strong same-finish near-match. For modelling, drop to NATO Black in the recesses and step up to Dark Grey 2 on the edges, both Tamiya paints. In practice you can substitute across brands here without anyone noticing at arm's length.
German Grey equivalents in other ranges
1 of the 11 brands with a mapped match get genuinely close to Tamiya German Grey, though none is a clone. Brand by brand, the nearest colors are:
- Closest Green Stuff World equivalent: Green Stuff World Blackroot Grey, close enough that batch variation matters more (delta E 1.9).
- From Two Thin Coats: Two Thin Coats Doom Death Black, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 2.6).
- AK Interactive's closest color: AK Interactive German Grey, a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 2.9).
- Nearest in the Vallejo catalog: Vallejo Grey Green, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 3.0).
- Best Humbrol option: Humbrol Black Grey, a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 3.4).
- From Monument Pro Acryl: Monument Pro Acryl Warm Grey, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 3.5).
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
Green Stuff World
Two Thin Coats
AK Interactive
Vallejo
Humbrol
Monument Pro Acryl
P3 Paints
Scale75
Citadel
Revell
The Army Painter
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Match difficulty
Found in 6 other brands with a same-finish match.
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to Tamiya German Grey?
The closest same-finish match is Green Stuff World Blackroot Grey at 91% color similarity.
Is there a Vallejo equivalent of German Grey?
Yes. The closest Vallejo option is Grey Green at 85%, a same-finish match.
What color is German Grey?
German Grey is a dark muted grey with a neutral cast (hex #383838).
What do I highlight and shade German Grey with?
Highlight German Grey toward Dark Grey 2 and shade it down into NATO Black, both Tamiya paints in the same finish family.