If you’ve been following Joss Ivanwood over on Instagram, you’ll know he’s been hard at work building a bus out of LEGO. That might sound a bit odd – Joss is better known for making fantastic creatures than vehicles, as our archives will attest. But it all becomes clear once you realise it’s the famous Catbus, from Studio Ghibli favourite My Neighbour Totoro! It’s been several months in the making, and now it’s debuted, we can see what a magnificent creation it is. We’ve even got the movie’s other protagonists too!
I absolutely love Totoro; it’s probably my favourite Ghibli film. So indulge me, and let’s take a closer look at Joss’ cracking Catbus!
Catbus is the star of the show, being as big as it is. The lighting on the inside plays an underrated role, giving it that warm inviting glow to get Satsuki and Mei out of the rain. Both inside and out make great use of the 2×3 ‘rock’ piece to invoke a furry texture.
And doing so is no mean feat! Joss elected to use medium nougat and dark brown for “maximum accuracy”, and indeed they are very good matches for the on-screen counterpart. The downside is that these colours really limit what pieces you can use. Not that you’d know it from the excellent shaping on display!
What is a bus without passengers? Well, Joss built those too! First up, sisters Satsuki and Mei, with the bus stop sign to boot. They’re depicted just how they are at the bus stop in the film, with Mei getting a piggy-back from Satsuki. I love that! Oh, and that rock piece makes another appearance, this time as hair.
And last, but certainly not least, is the lovable, fluffy giant that is Totoro. Look at that big toothy grin! Apparently, this build is deceptively complex in order to give his face the depth it requires. And a happy accident of Catbus’ scale is the fact that the printed eye tiles are a great match here. Totoro is absolutely full of personality!
We absolutely love this build – it’s a shoe-in for one of our favourites of the year so far. For more Ghibli goodness – including a great Spirited Away piece, also by Joss – have a look at what else we’ve featured here!