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
