The serialization of "Dinosaur Treasure House" began in September 2003, and I am once again surprised by the fact that it has been more than 10 years. The special dinosaur goods introduced in that memorable first installment were plaster Triceratops and Dimetrodon, sold at the National Science Museum in the Showa 30s (1955-1964). Unfortunately, they weren't mine; they were borrowed from Mr. Toshiyuki Honda, a renowned composer and saxophonist, and a dinosaur enthusiast. (Treasure House Vol. 1)

I first learned about Mr. Honda's plaster dinosaurs even further back in time, before "Jurassic Park," so it's been over 20 years now. I was captivated by a plaster Dimetrodon in a music magazine that Mr. Honda was bragging about, which looked familiar. It was definitely one of the four plaster dinosaurs I received as a child at the Ueno Science Museum, which I, like any child, removed from their pedestals, made them fight, and ultimately destroyed. (By the way, Mr. Honda had carefully stored his in their original boxes. Is this the difference between someone who succeeds in society and someone who leads an ordinary life?)

As Mr. Honda and I were not strangers in the same profession, I immediately contacted him and got to see them. For a quarter of a century since then, whenever I saw an antique shop, I would peer in with a slim hope, and since the advent of the internet, I've been searching for any information, even wishing someone would find them for me for about 100,000 yen. But there wasn't even a clue. I had the opportunity to ask Dr. Yukimitsu Tomida and Dr. Makoto Manabe of the National Science Museum, but they both said they had never seen them, so it seems they no longer exist even at the museum.

And then, finally, that day came...
On March 1st, with snow still lingering on the roadside, I was checking "Dinosaurs → Antiques" on Yahoo Auctions as usual, and my breath caught in my throat for a moment when I saw an image plainly titled "Dinosaur, Old Model, Objet." I immediately knew it was the plaster T-Rex from the Science Museum. I was glad to be alive! I genuinely felt that way, and it's no exaggeration. The time I spent anxiously waiting until the bid closed felt incredibly long! The starting price was 1000 yen, and no one had bid, but in the end, I happily won it for 2100 yen and safely welcomed it into my home. My first impression when I held it was, "Was it this small?!" The feeling of it in my hands as a child must have been deeply ingrained in my memory.

This is the plaster Tyrannosaurus. (Photo 1)

Plaster Triceratops and Dimetrodon, from Treasure House Vol. 1, owned by Mr. Toshiyuki Honda. (Photo 2)

All that remains is the Stegosaurus. Will I ever get to see it in my lifetime?

There are not many images left that convey the appearance of the dinosaur hall at the National Science Museum during the Showa 30s and 40s (1955-1974), when these souvenirs were sold (there was no Tarbosaurus skeleton yet, an Allosaurus skeleton was displayed at the entrance, and a life-size T-Rex model was placed in the hall). The monochrome photo in "New Dinosaur Treasure House Vol. 10" shows the T-Rex that was the basis for the plaster model looking down at me, but I couldn't find any other photos of T-Rex. However, color footage was preserved in an unexpected place. A scene lasting only about 20 seconds in Toho's special effects film "Frankenstein Conquers the World," produced in 1965, shows the dinosaur hall of that time.
Dinosaur Hall (Photo 3)

Allosaurus at the entrance (Photo 4)

I found a few photos used on book covers from that time, but unfortunately, no T-Rex. (Photo 5)

*For more information on Science Museum dinosaur goods since then, please see "Treasure House Vol. 49."

Well, since presenting only one T-Rex, even if it is the ultimate treasure, would be too lonely, let's introduce another item this time: Ants' "In Hand Museum" series. Ants' products were featured in "Treasure House Vol. 25" with the "1/12 Allosaurus Skeleton Kit (eternally? sleeping in the closet)," but this time it's a finished series of skulls. Since it's from 1999, it's not that old, but the manufacturer seems to no longer exist, and it hardly ever shows up in American auctions or on dinosaur enthusiast websites, so it might unexpectedly be a treasure.

A lineup of 21 species at a unified 1/10 scale (Photo 6).

While T-Rex and Triceratops are standard sizes, and medium-sized ones like Edmontosaurus and Stegosaurus are snack toy size and fine, the small dinosaurs scattered like tiny beans at the front of the photo are 1-2 cm in size. Zooming in, they look like this: (Photo 7) – Psittacosaurus, Hypsilophodon, Heterodontosaurus

(Photo 8) – Gallimimus, Oviraptor

(Photo 9) – Herrerasaurus, Deinonychus

(Photo 10) – Plateosaurus, Coelophysis

The smallest Heterodontosaurus (1 cm) is so tiny that the details can barely be seen with the naked eye.
Perhaps realizing they were too small, these miniature dinosaurs were also modeled in 1/2 scale (Heterodontosaurus, Hypsilophodon, Coelophysis) and 1/3 scale. These larger models exhibit excellent detail, painting, and texture, making them splendid works. (Photo 11)