Gun Metal is a dark muted metallic silver with a neutral cast. Within the Tamiya range it ladders cleanly, Dark Iron for the shadows and Metallic Grey for the highlights. This color is somewhat distinctive: 1 brand offers a strong same-finish match, Humbrol Gunmetal closest at 92 percent. A cross-brand swap will get you most of the way, but eyeball it against the original first.
Gun Metal equivalents in other ranges
Several ranges orbit this color without landing on it. Here is the closest each brand manages, nearest first:
- Closest Humbrol equivalent: Humbrol Gunmetal, close enough that batch variation matters more (delta E 1.6).
- From The Army Painter: The Army Painter Gun Metal, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 4.5).
- Monument Pro Acryl's closest color: Monument Pro Acryl Silver, workable at tabletop distance, not up close (delta E 4.7).
- Nearest in the Vallejo catalog: Vallejo Steel Grey, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 4.8).
- Best AK Interactive option: AK Interactive Gun Metal, workable at tabletop distance, not up close (delta E 5.3).
- From Citadel: Citadel Grey Knights Steel, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 5.8).
Side by side the two agree in lightness and temperature; at delta E 1.6 the gap is smaller than the variation between two pots of the same paint.
How to read the score
90+Close
80sUsable
<70Mix
Humbrol
The Army Painter
Monument Pro Acryl
Vallejo
AK Interactive
Gun Metal
Basalt Grey
Neutral Grey
Raf Extra Dark Sea Grey Bs381C/640
French Blue
Amt-11 Blue-Grey
French Greyish Blue
Dark Blue-Grey
Citadel
Two Thin Coats
P3 Paints
Revell
Green Stuff World
Scale75
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Match difficulty
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to Tamiya Gun Metal?
The closest same-finish match is Humbrol Gunmetal at 92% color similarity.
Is there a The Army Painter equivalent of Gun Metal?
Yes. The closest The Army Painter option is Gun Metal at 78%, a same-finish match.
What finish is Gun Metal?
Gun Metal is a metallic paint with a silver tone and a reflective finish. Because the shine comes from metal flake, a flat paint can match the color and still be wrong for the job, which is why cross-finish matches here are references rather than swaps.
What do I highlight and shade Gun Metal with?
Highlight Gun Metal toward Metallic Grey and shade it down into Dark Iron, both Tamiya paints in the same finish family.