Mueller MIK 2026 -- Totoro's Cat Bus

[Eric_Mueller]

OK, we are in!

We spent some time brainstorming. I was excited about this theme, but I suffered a real brain block. The rest of the clan did better.

Someone mentioned the Nekabusa (Cat bus) from the anime film “My Neighbor Totoro.” Nekabusa is a bus sized, multi-legged cat that is only visible to the children, creatures, and spirits that inhabit the forests of a rural Japanese village.

He runs on roads, treetops, and powerlines, leaving only a wind to mark his passing. Kid-zilla provided our obligatory napkin drawing.

We plan to make a core from (what else?) foam then carve it to shape to form the body. We’ll likely buy a foam sphere for the head. I’ve proposed spent rocket motors for legs. No clue how we are going to make it fuzzy. Of course, we will build to the exacting standards of 1:24-ish PLAYMOBIL scale!

We did consider making Nekabusa something to set out on the top of our railroad’s trees, which would be true to the film, but we all agreed it should ride on the rails. We will make some kind of low-visibility dolly to serve that purpose. The final product may not pass through our tunnels, cuts, and other pinch points, but, even sitting on a siding waiting for passengers, it’ll be a fun set-out piece!

We start tomorrow…probably…if I can wrangle the team…

Eric

[VicSmith]

I can’t wait to see the end result. Both Totoro and the Nekubau visit my layout as well. That is my favorite anime of all time and the Nekubasu is my favorite anime character.

BTW, interested in a Totoro for your layout?

[Eric_Mueller]

@VicSmith

BTW, interested in a Totoro for your layout?

I know the clan would love it! They will probably also be interested to learn Totoro and Nekabusa are known beyond Japan and Hawaii!

In the meantime, the “Digger Men” are arriving on the site…

The 1:24 “Digger Men” are ready…

           The 1:1 builders are ready....

BRING ON MIK 2026!!!

[VicSmith]

Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are very very very well known here. If you haven’t watched “The Cat Returns” I highly recommend it

[Eric_Mueller]

@VicSmith

Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are very very very well known here.

Vic, the family was pleasantly surprised by this information! Also, O.D. who takes Japanese in high school, got a kick out of my mis-tranliteration of Cat Bus…It’s Nekobusa with an “o.” Oh, well, I can still order a beer and ask the directions to the bathroom in Korean and Chinese, so I am ahead of her by two languages.

Meanwhile, this weekend was about solving the issue of the cat body. First, the 1:24 gang took stock of the raw material.

We’re good with foam. Kid-zilla had located trucks for the carriage, then he proceeded to Houston Gate Locomotive Works and Boot Lane Works for a small loco to push it. Creative? Yes. This project? No.

The 1:24 MOW crew hit the rails with a work train to take some critical measurements to ensure at least some chance the Cat Bus will clear most obstacles.

That helped to define the size of the project to roughly the size of an LGB 2-axle Euro-style freight car. Y.D. showed up to help Kid-zilla start cutting pieces for the core. She drifted off after initial measurements, so O.S. lent-to.

With much shouting, the boys got four pieces of roughly even size cut. Stacking them showed we were off to a good start (photos courtesy of Kid-zilla).

O.D. and I discussed the next steps. There will be some selective compression in order to ensure both fit and durability. The plans is to “scoop” out the passenger compartment. A third layer of smaller foam blocks will frame the windows. The 1:24 gang glued the two parts of the core together.

This has to dry overnight, then we can cut the window frames. The final size and shape will determine the foam ball we buy for the head. If we can get this to the point that O.D. can start shaping the cat body by next weekend, we will be in good shape. I think the key will be the patience to let the glue dry!

In the meantime, the boys and I will start looking for more bits to make the carriage, and I have Y.D. working out the issue of the tail.

MIK on!

Eric

[David_Marconi_FOGCH (David Marconi CHHNNG)]

Looks like this is off to a good start. I might have cut out at least a bit of the center waste as I glued the sheets together to aid in the future scooping to hollow it out. But that’s just hind sight thoughts and you all have the project in hand

[Eric_Mueller]

Thanks, @David_Marconi_FOGCH ! Interestingly, as the kids have gotten older and more capable, it is just as hard to move the project forward as when they were toddlers. I have to factor in band, ballet, karate, friends, soccer, etc. when I try to apportion jobs and schedule work. All part of the fun.

The project lunched forward. O.S. and Kid-villa enlisted the 1:24 gang to cut up foam that will serve to frame the windows.

O.D. is weighing how to use these to finish the body…when she is not doing homework, applying for scholarships, practicing for auditions…

O.D., Kid-zilla, and I did select material for the carriage. The boys and I will get cracking on that this weekend. Meanwhile, Y.D. and I plan to go to the craft store to address the head, tail, and fur.

Sometimes I wish we got snow days…then I remember shoveling that stuff, and I accept the challenge as it is!

Eric

[Eric_Mueller]

Update:

My computer us in the shop, so bear with me as I type on a tablet!

Yesterday, O.D. took a crack at the core. She refined what her brothers started, cut out the window frames, and glued them to the floor.

She’ll scoop out the passenger compartment before gluing on the roof and shaping the core. Kid-zilla and Y.D. Will select materials for head, eyes, fur, etc.

In parallel with her efforts, the 1:24 gang, Kid-zilla, and I selected timbers for the carriage. Kid-zilla and crew carefully aligned and marked everything.

It wouldn’t be a Mik without my nemesis, Sabre Saw, so he came out to make the cuts.

We also cut some scrap for bolsters, which we glued on with TiteBond III. It looked like this…

…until heading for the Palm of Spray Painting a few moments ago.

We’ll screw on th trucks later. Once we mount Nekobusa, we’ll see about how to couple this to a train.

Updates as progress merits!
On Behalf of Team Mueller,

Eric

[Eric_Mueller]

Update…

Ugh. I found myself unexpectedly in an overtime rich environment, so I have not been able to either follow others’ build or to usher ours along. Normally, when I anticipate a situation like, this, I steer the project towards skills that I possess and can bring out in 10-15 minute packets before a push for the finish. As this is more on the artistic side than the modeling side, I am really dependent upon the girls in particular to see Nekobusa through!

Excuses aside, project has lurched forward.

Somewhere along the line, Kid-zilla and I finished the carriage and gave it a good 0-5-0 test out on the rails.

That’ll do. We have to wait until the girls finish the cat before proceeding.

O.D. was up to the challenge, but, alas, our foam cutters were not; specifically, the power supply failed. Still, using knives and sandpaper, she got a good shape.

This was not where she wanted to stop, but time is part of the contest. She opted to go with what she had, and she handed this over to Y.D., who began discussing options for fur with CINCHOUSE. They opted for felt, which Y.D. has begun to apply to the head and body.

She brushed out the felt to make it fuzzy. The rocket motor casings will serve as legs. She and Kid-zilla were pondering the head, and she still has to make the tail. Y.D. crochets for a hobby, and she has a really good sense of materials in general. We are relying on her to draw from that skill- and knowledgebase to bring this to near completion.

This is really nerve-wracking for me, and I am crossing my fingers we will bring this over the line!

Updates as progress merits!

On Behalf of Team Mueller,
Eric

[VicSmith]

Eric I found the extra Totoros I have, message me your address

[Eric_Mueller]

@VicSmith

message me your address

Vic, thanks so much! Private message sent!

Meanwhile, back to the problem at hand…getting this over the line. Youngest Daughter has been at work felting and cutting and gluing.

The legs, are, in fact, spent Estes motor casings. I’ve no idea how much farther she has gotten, as the component parts have disappeared into “Crafty Corner,” her spot where yarn and glue and paper and clothes go to be reimagined and repurposed behind an explosion of stuff awaiting her creative touch. Being the “Crafty Corner” is in the girls’ bedroom, I’ll not post a photo. Suffice to say, it puts the most hammajong (local slang, probably a combo of multiple languages; it means messed up or messy) work bench to shame…

Contracting out phases of this project has driven me to the point of breaking. All other projects factored in a three-day TiteBond and acrylic blitz by all hands. This project, however, depends upon each individual’s specific talent, so the phasing has been key to completion…and the cause of my handwringing!

All are on notice that Sunday is the deadline. It is going to be close…

Eric

[Eric_Mueller]

Update:

Kid-zilla joined Y.D. on a “cold” (70-ish), rainy day to cover the body in felt. They are using a hot glue gun to hold everything in place. Both dispersed to attend to other activities, so it was left to me to finish the interior with the parts on hand:

Never in my wildest dreams did I think felt, scissors, and hot glue were going to be part of my model railroading experience! All the same, I am enjoying the burn on my finger…

…doing the one piece of felt left for me to do!

I proceeded with gluing the top to the body. I found that hot glue actually melts foam! No one told me this! It looked like this:

Noticing that my gluework was not going to work, I grabbed some TiteBond III and some bungee cords, and there the matter lies.

Tomorrow, after consulting with the crew, I will cut some brass rod to use as stilts to mount Nekobusa to his carriage. The kids are responsible for the face, ears, body stripes, and touch up. A quick check today indicated he should clear the tunnel and curves, so we’ll add some couplers, too.

It’s going to come down to the wire, but if everyone lends to, we will get over the line!

Biting my nails…

Eric

[Eric_Mueller]

P.S. I stepped on something in Crafty Corner, sending beads all over the floor. Good thing Kid-zilla was there to do the gluing while I was sorting packing crafting beads!

[Rooster]

@Eric_Mueller

I know the clan would love it! They will probably also be interested to learn Totoro and Nekabusa are known beyond Japan and Hawaii!

Well Eric you can tell them Mr. actually is/was aware of them. One of my friends had a VHS tape (back in the day). We would get together and watch it while enjoying products from Hawaii and Columbia and they still have good coffee to this day!

[Eric_Mueller]

Final update…

O.D. pulled an all-nighter to make the ears and to make templates for the eyes. She had a pool party on another “cold” day that barely reached the high 60-s, but she wanted to ensure we could finish the job! She left Kid-zilla and Y.D. in a good place to cut, glue, stick, and shape. I wish I could have taken photos of the activity, but Crafty Corner is a private space.

Meanwhile, the 1:24 gang and I went to work on the lanai to prepare Nekobasu’s carriage (NOTE: I’ve given up trying to transliterate “cat bus.” For those who care, it’s ねこバスin Japanese.). I had found some brass rod I’d bought at some point for some thing, and the lads and I chose it based on diameter over the sundry wood dowels we have.

First, we got permission from the railroad union to reinstall couplers.

Afterward, we drilled holes in the carriage to recieve the rods…

…then cut 4" bits of brass…

…that we glued in place with epoxy.

And with that, the 1:24 called “Huki pau!” and celebrated their achievements.

Meanwhile, Kid-zilla emerged with Nekabusa, complete with airdrying clay rat roof lamps. This is what airdrying clay rat roof lamps look like if, as a father, you hypothetically forget their presence, put a cat bus upside down, and press its carriage into the body.

Oops…There were lots of tears and lots of apologies, but new and better rat lamps emerged from the clay. I owe Kid-zilla…

The final product looks like this:

And…Pau!

I celebrated…

…and reflected on the competition. As always, hats off to @Dave_Taylor for running this thing. Every year, he has created and curated a for-fun bill that has become a Mueller family tradition. The close of the 2026 MIK is bittersweet, however, as it will be the last time we will all gather to participate. We have crossed that event horizon where the centripetal force of time has overcome the centrifugal force of tradition. The same years that developed skills and built memories also delivered us to that point where the first of the 1:1 crew will leave to start her own life. Behind her, her siblings have taken all these skills and applied them to other passions, and they, too, are beginning to look to a place beyond the reach of the Triple O’s physical rails. Sunrise, sunset…

To all the competitors this year, in years past, and those travelling first class in the great beyond aboard the Wabash Cannonball, thanks for your efforts, your passion, and your friendship! And, of course, GOOD LUCK!!!

On Behalf of Clan Mueller,

Eric

[Jalicunning (Jim Cunningham)]

“We have crossed that event horizon where the centripetal force of time has overcome the centrifugal force of tradition.”

Beautiful line, Eric, very evocative.

[Turbo4whl (Wayne Powell)]

@Jalicunning

Beautiful line, Eric, very evocative.

I had to “look up” all those.

[Todd_Brody]

Except that there is no “centrifugal” force. That is just a misnomer for inertia.