Tag Archives: Timofey Tkachev

Magic school is back in session with this LEGO tribute to the wizardy world of Owl House

Over three seasons, Dana Terrace’s The Owl House cemented itself as maybe the best stories ever told about a misfit from the mundane world finding family and purpose in a magical world. It has school drama, magical team sports, sorting into your ordained role, complicated families, fantastic creatures, and some of the best wizard duels to ever hit the screen. It also won a Peabody, each season was nominated for a GLAAD award, and the creator never punches down. Builder Timofey Tkachev recreated the series’ most iconic location, the titular Owl House, home of Eda “the owl lady” Clawthorne, out of over 4000 LEGO bricks. Timofey adeptly captures the house’s unusual angles but it’s the stunning stained glass window that really catches the eye. Another version of the Owl House made it to the review stage on LEGO ideas, but unfortunately didn’t make the cut, but you can find instructions for Timofey’s version on Rebrickable.

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What in tarnation? Timofey Tkachev is back with a rootin’ tootin’ varmint shootin’ Yosemite Sam in LEGO

Back in the halcyon pre-COVID days, Timofey Tkachev was one of TBB’s most featured builders. With a catalog of works that includes massive spacecraft, modulars, props, cartoon characters, and mind-bending artistic sculptures, Timofey defies categorization. Back in 2023, Timofey’s prolific run seemed to come to an end as the builder stopped posting for a couple of years. Now he’s back with a rootin’ tootin’ take on Yosemite Sam the third Looney Tunes tribute from the builder. It’s a spot-on likeness of the trigger-happy toon, making good use of orange tiles in that magnificent moustache. The canted cacti are quite impressive too.

In honor of Timofey’s return, we’re reposting our interview with Timofey from 2017, which you can read below.

Continue to our interview with Timofey from 2017

The Looney suspects

Sufferin’ succotash! Timofey Tkachev has built two of of the Looney Tunes Rogues’ Gallery, in the form of Sylvester and Taz, capturing all the details of the loveable characters in LEGO form! In the building of these two characters, Timofey has used the wealth of brick types available to craft naturally posed likenesses of the two. The dynamically posed Taz captures the wild and constant movement of the character. I love the facial expression with wild eyes and ruffled hair all beautifully realized using well placed tiles and plates to craft the pose.

This is again replicated in Sylvester. I love how Timofey has crafted both expressions but the fluffy cheeks and wide eyes of the loveable cat are perfect here! Let’s hope I’m following up on this post soon with more of the Looney Tunes characters!

A designer purse that will be all the rage next season.

LEGO is a medium that can bring anything you can imagine to life, from far away planets to mystical realms. But builders like Timofey Tkachev know that it’s often just as impressive to recreate the real world in LEGO form. Timofey has created a handbag from LEGO bricks that you could understandably mistake for the real thing.

Keep reading to get a peek at what’s inside!

Happiness is a puppy under the Christmas tree

Dog owners know how much joy a new doggie brings to the household. They can be a lot of work at times, they get into things you wouldn’t even imagine, but when your new pup finally settles in that’s when the magic happens. LEGO builder Timofey Tkachev likely knows what I mean as evidenced by this darling little fur baby under the tree. That playful expression, the squeaky ball, even the DOTS watchband used as a collar are all brilliant details.

You can see this precious little scamp from all angles with this short video.

A good crust makes the pie

As any baker knows, a good pie starts with the crust. Now, what a good crust is can be debated, but the creator of this culinary confection definitely did something right. Aside from the masterful latticework overlayed on the filling of translucent reds, builder Timofey Tkachev kneaded out a crispy crust of baguettes. This nice parts usage was made possible by wedging the baguettes onto flags built into the structure of the filling. A little friction helped place the rest, achieving a nicely textured outer edge to the pie.

Keyed into culinary display techniques, Timofey gave us wonderful details like sprigs of herbs, a dragon wing as filling oozing out onto the table, and stray bits of the crust where the slice of pie was cut.

If this has your mouth watering, check out some of the other desserts hanging out in the bakery. Just remember that, like the food in commercials, brick-built food is strictly inedible.

How can you say no to that face?

Timofey Tkachev has created this adorable build of an innocent-looking puppy. The dynamic pose of the model provides a sense of the puppy’s jovial personality, with its cute head tilt and raised paw. Wedge pieces form much of the face, cradling the lower part of the eyes and surrounding the eyebrows which are portrayed by arch pieces. A number of claw pieces have been placed across the build, representing strands of puppy’s fur. It’s a little tricky to tell what type of dog this model is actually based on, possibly something mixed with a poodle or a shih tzu at a guess. With those loving eyes, it feels as though this pup could get away with anything.

Music for my babushka

Last weekend, Timofey Tkachev went to see his babushka. There is no place like a countryside cottage to spend long summer evenings, sipping hot tea, and enjoying a slice of a berry pie. But one doesn’t simply go to babushka empty-handed. Being a very talented LEGO builder, Timofey designed something exceptional: a full-sized replica of a traditional balalaika, a Russian stringed instrument. The brick-built design looks wonderful in its simplicity. The iconic triangular shape became possible thanks to the clever use of regular slope pieces. And thanks to the hues of LEGO colors, this balalaika looks almost exactly like a real one.

Kudos to Vera Senyuta for joining the tea party and taking her camera with her. We always love to see custom LEGO creations shot in beautiful settings. For a musical instrument like this one, there is no better background than a couple of birches in the evening sun.

Want to know how I got these scars?

Gifted LEGO wizard Timofey Tkachev is a master of character work both large and small. If you’re not familiar, we interviewed him a couple years back. Last summer he shared an 80th anniversary Batman bust and now he’s the delivered the Caped Crusader’s most famous archnemesis, Joker. He even left a calling card.

It’s an arresting model, clearly modeled after Heath Ledger’s take from 2008’s The Dark Knight complete with smudged makeup and that oh-so-striking smile. This particular wicked grin is made up of crowbars and horns. The shocks of hair are, of course, a bounty of olive-colored limb elements.

Need more of the Clown Prince of Crime in your life? Be sure to check out Vincent’s recent Joker film take and George Paneteleon’s animated series-inspired rendition.

Ce n’est pas un mème

René Magritte had something to say about the treachery of images. And the Matrix film series had a lot to say about the nature of reality. It looks like Timofey Tkachev has some thoughts on this matter, too. I mean, a picture of a LEGO sculpture of a scene from an imaginary world played by a real person? That’s some mind-bending stuff if you think about it enough. (Or maybe this self-isolation is just getting to me.) Regardless, this is one stunning bit of sculptural work. In The Choice, Timofey has once again built with an enviable level of photo-realism. I mean, just look at the shaping in those hands!

My favorite detail is the choice to replace the traditional red and blue pills with appropriately colored 2×4 LEGO bricks. Part of me wishes that one of them was a knock-off brand, though. Just for that added bit of snark.

A magical adult beverage

You may have heard of the Green Fairy associated with Absinthe, but did you know that Guinness has a fairy, too? Perched atop a foamy brew, this red-headed sprite is ready to promote all sorts of questionable decision making.

Okay, maybe I made all that up. And maybe that’s just root beer. But something makes me think this drink is higher octane than that. Only LEGO builder Timofey Tkachev knows for sure.

Built for the Fairybruary contest on DoubleBrick, Timofey has used garage door panels and ice cream scoops to bring the beverage to life. The fairy has some interesting part usage, too, including more of those garage door panels and even Unikitty tails.

My only concern really, is that she’s decided to sit directly in the beer. That can’t be sanitary.

Look who’s laughing now

Look who’s laughing now… It’s Shenzi, Banzai, and the cackling Ed — the trio of villainous hyenas from Disney’s 1994 animated classic The Lion King, created in LEGO bricks by Timofey Tkachev. The sculpting here is excellent — each beast well-posed, and their different faces captured perfectly through a variety of building techniques and parts. The key to success lies in the choice of scale — these shady characters are surprisingly large, giving Timofey space to nail all the details. And while simple, the surrounding landscaping enhances the presentation of the central figures, suggesting the bleak elephant’s graveyard, which surely stretches to the horizons around them.

The Lion King‘s characterization of these hyenas received a mixed reception back in 1994, with some critics accusing Disney of racist caricature in the voice acting and dialogue. Disney never acknowledged any of this criticism, but Scar’s hyena lieutenants were quietly rewritten, and mostly renamed, in the 2019 live-action remake. Whatever you might think of the original movie’s depiction of this trio, it doesn’t affect the quality of the LEGO building on display here.