TTC - Two Thin Coats

 No pictures here because why bother?

I finally attended a model show (more on that in another post) where the Two Thin Coats range was displayed. I've been keeping an eye on this paint range for a while, wondering what sets it apart from others. There's the obvious youtube ravings, but I don't trust them at the best of times because even if it's not a commercial then their perspectives on the matter are almost certain to differ from mine.

Let's back up though and start from the beginning.

Citadel paints are great. That's my opinion on the matter of course, but they get the job done, are widely available, flexible enough (with water or flow improver), and have a very large range. I even prefer their bottles for their own range of base and layer paints. They're also not paints that are aimed at a youtuber - they're aimed at essentially young teenagers, or parents of teenagers, or people who dabble in the hobby without getting too serious about it. That is the target audience, and the Citadel paint range fit that audience very well - but can also be used by people who are a little more into the hobby. Citadel also came out with the Contrast range of paints that everyone else has tried to copy (with varying degrees of success).

To anyone young and starting out in the hobby, I would absolutely say go pick up a starter set from Citadel.

I don't think Two Thin Coats are aimed at that audience. They can be used, sure, but the audience I think is the slightly more experienced painter. There's going to be a lot of overlap with Citadel paints in levels of experience of course, but the point is that the ranges are not in direct competition and to me instead can complement each other. More on how that will work (for me) in a moment.

At the show I approached the testing area to try out the white (White Star). I have no particular problem with White Scar (from Citadel) other than it dries very fast and can be a little difficult to thin properly and work with it when the weather isn't particularly friendly. I had heard that Two Thin Coats' white was very nice, so I thought I'd see for myself. Yes - it is very nice. It's definitely more translucent than the Citadel equivalent and as the name suggests it's best applied in two (or more) thin coats, depending on what is being covered. It also flows more smoothly across the surface - which is hard to describe without trying it for yourself. It has lower viscosity than most from Citadel, but good surface tension.

If I had to guess, slightly more pigment and flow improver in the Two Thin Coats range. The latter also means the working time is longer than what I'm used to, making wet blending almost trivial for me. I became rather experienced with glazing to combat the fast drying time of the Citadel range (which is generally going to be better for beginners) but now I'm at the level where some of what I would like to do is better achieved with a longer working time and being able to blend together on the model.

Here is where the paint ranges starting to complement each other comes into play. I think I will prefer base coating with Citadel paints because of the faster drying time - I can apply multiple coats more quickly, and depending on the paint it might need fewer coats for complete coverage. Using Citadel to sketch out initial highlights, then I can come in with the Two Thin Coats paints and smooth everything out. At least that's the idea - I'll need to build up a selection of paints first, which I'll only do as I need to replace my existing ones - everything I have works fine, but now I have further options when needed.

Finally, I tried Doom Metal. It's a nearly black metallic which is exactly what I've been after for a while. I was getting annoyed at everything metal being bright silver or steel, and wanted a darker look for e.g gun barrels. Doom Metal fits the bill nicely. The Citadel metallics work mostly just fine for me, but there are a few gaps and I think the Two Thin Coats range will fill that niche without me constantly trying to mix up something.

Finally: TTC are a much more matt finish, but this doesn't bother me because I always varnish my models anyway.

I've yet to try them through an airbrush, but I think the TTC range is impressive and what I need to continue to improve my painting at this stage of the journey. Right tool for the job and all that.

-- silly painter.