It seems that the excellent translation for "Archaeopteryx"—brief, accurate, and with a memorable rhythm—was "invented" by Dr. Matashiro Yokoyama, who also coined "恐龍" (dinosaur). This name was used in the sketches and restoration drawings of the London specimen published in his 1894 textbook "Fossilology." http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/831231 (Frame 103/145)

Before that, in Edward S. Morse's "Theory of Animal Evolution," recorded by Chiyomatsu Ishikawa in 1883, illustrations of the London specimen were used (the Berlin specimen was described the following year), but the name used was "Archaeopteryx."
http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/832826/5 (Frame 56/87)

In the dawn of Japanese paleontology, Archaeopteryx was synonymous with the London specimen. And now, that very London specimen is finally before my eyes!

＊Incidentally, the first sketch of the Berlin specimen in my personal library appears in "History of Earth's Development" (written by Seisho Ishikawa), published in 1904. http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/831688 (Frame 83/141)

On the opening day of the "British Natural History Museum Exhibition," I went before opening, hoping to get one of the 1,000 non-sale Archaeopteryx fossil pins distributed to the first visitors. I found myself in a long queue, waiting over 30 minutes. I almost gave up, but managed to snag one at the last minute. Later, I discovered it was just a different color variation of a gashapon sold at the exit. I couldn't help but wonder if it was worth waking up early and queuing just for a color variation, but putting that aside, I bowed before the London specimen amidst the massive crowd. It was truly a precious thing. I was surprised to see negatives, whose existence I hadn't even known about, displayed alongside it. I couldn't stay as long as I wanted, so I vowed to return on a weekday during daylight hours and then departed.

The items on the left side of (Image 1) are the Archaeopteryx goods I purchased then. While I was somewhat dissatisfied with the accuracy of the various London specimen miniatures, I couldn't resist buying them. The pin badge was the best quality. The mascot plush toy came with the advance ticket and was much better than the pink version sold at the venue. I also bought tile crackers with the London specimen branded on them, so elaborate they resembled tree branches, attracted by the packaging. I enjoyed one, leaving the other for later. I'm still considering buying the "Archaeopteryx Kewpie (there's also a Darwin Kewpie)" next time. The 3D-printed replica of the Iguanodon tooth, which I was eager to buy, was apparently the only one brought and sold out during the preview. That's just too much...

Incidentally, the right side of (Image 1) shows an Archaeopteryx London specimen handkerchief previously sold at the National Museum of Nature and Science shop. I missed showing it in Treasure House Vol. 34, which focused on Berlin specimen-related items. It also appears in the National Museum of Nature and Science souvenir section of Treasure House Vol. 49. Please take a look.

A warm welcome to the London specimen! And since the latest Archaeopteryx model from Favorite has also been released, this time it's an Archaeopteryx figure grand collection!
Although I say that, considering its fame, the number of Archaeopteryx figures is surprisingly small. Even gathering all the Archaeopteryx figures in my home wouldn't be enough for one Treasure House volume. Come to think of it, it wasn't even featured in Kaiyodo's garage kit series (only Chocozaurus), nor in France's "STARLUX" which released over 100 ancient creature series in the 70s. Even "Collecta," which continuously releases niche ancient creature models, hasn't released one yet. I searched "Dinosaur Collectibles" (published 1999), a must-have book for dinosaur collectors (easy to search as it's arranged alphabetically by manufacturer), but the only figures I found were a 90s resin kit (Saurian Studios) and a 50s British gashapon "Shreddies" (New Treasure House Vol. 8). It's nowhere near the flying animal Pteranodon, and it even loses to the somewhat minor Ankylosaurus in the same A section.

Let's compose ourselves and start with the treasures.

(Image 2) This is a rough assembly of the Archaeopteryx included in the "Jungle Swamp" set from the Aurora "Prehistoric Scenes" plastic model series (Treasure House Vol. 10 & Vol. 57). It's a valuable item, but the devil on my shoulder whispered, "Just build it already!"

(Image 3) Old and new miniature toys and gashapon. The top row features badges and plate-like plastic figures from "Kobito Kyoryu Gum" (Dwarf Dinosaur Gum), and the aforementioned "Shreddies," about 4-5 cm in size. To the right is an 80s gashapon that I introduced in Treasure House Vol. 53 as "possibly the world's first 3D skeletal model." The bottom row features more recent items: "Fight! Extinct Animals," "Dino World (Kabaya Foods)," "Beast Battle Animal Kaiser Toujuuroku (Bandai)," and "Chocozaurus."

(Image 4) On the left are larger gashapon and miniature toys: "Skeletal Museum (Epoch Co. - Gacha)" and "Dinosaur Museum (Doyusha - Shoku)." They have been colored. They are almost the same size, each with pros and cons, so it might be a good idea to get another pair and combine the best features of both. On the right is "Dinosaur Tree" (Takara Tokushima), likely from the 80s. Pink dinosaur erasers connected to runners hang like fruit on the branches, perfect for cherry blossom season. Depending on how you look at it, it could be an artistic object, but I'm not sure how to play with it. If you detach them, the tree becomes useless. There's also an Archaeopteryx, but it's hard to see, so I placed a brown version of the same model at the base.

(Image 5) Products from various animal figure manufacturers.
From left: "Papo" with a face that looks like the second form of Shin Godzilla. "Safari," released in 2015, has a darker color. "Bullyland," whose reptilian face is nostalgic. "Colorata," with a bird-like expression, often sold in sets at museum shops. Schleich also makes one, but it's only sold in the "Dinosaur and Cave Set" and is quite expensive for its quality, so I haven't purchased it.

(Image 6) Life-size models.
The only one with folded wings, Favorite's product, is unfortunately out of print. The one hanging from the ceiling flaps its wings with the power of a weight, like a wooden red-crowned crane souvenir from Hokkaido. The top right is a rather charming wooden kit. I once saw it displayed on a windowsill in a lab somewhere in America during an NHK documentary about ancient creatures. Below it is not exactly a figure, but a "pop-up coloring book" distributed as a supplement to the Yomiuri Kodomo Shimbun, related to this exhibition. When opened, a life-size illustration stands up. Originally, you were supposed to color a restoration drawing and paste it on top, but the skeletal diagram looked so good that I left it as is.

(Image 7) These were included, one each, in Tamiya's 1/35 Dinosaur World Series "Brachiosaurus Diorama Set" and "Small Dinosaur Set," and they each have different poses. Although only about 3cm in wingspan, they are well-made. Next to them, I've asked the handmade piece by Kazunari Araki, introduced in Treasure House Vol. 61, to make a reappearance.

(Image 8) Others
On the left is a Beast Wars transforming toy, which is quite well-made, including its feather representation. Next to it is a cheap toy that looks like something sold at a dagashiya (penny candy store), part of the "Flying Dinosaur Airplane" series. It flies while making a sound (?), with a whistle that doubles as a ballast. Then there's the currently available papercraft balance puzzle and a paper 3D puzzle whose origin is unknown. On the far right is an impactful Archaeopteryx from Robert Sabuda's extraordinary pop-up book "Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs," by the master of pop-up books.

(Image 9) By the way, here are some of the few other Mesozoic bird figures. On the left is the "Confuciusornis" garage kit from "Kobo Kinryu," introduced in Treasure House Vol. 64. To its right is "Alexornis," a character from the movie version of "Walking With Dinosaurs." And the Cretaceous seabird "Hesperornis" is a goodie from the BBC TV drama "Primeval," which I bought on Sekaimon. I hadn't seen it in Japan.

(Image 10) I also collected books and CDs featuring Archaeopteryx on their covers.
Ancient Animal Stories (Masamitsu Oshima, 1949, Shinchosha) / The Evolution of Vertebrates (Colbert, 1967, Tsukiji Shokan) / Don't Boast Dinosaurs, My Grandchildren (Shoji Iri, 1972, Shin Nippon Shuppan) / The Wonders of Fossils (Sahei Mashiko, 1977, Yuhikaku) / Anima (1980, Heibonsha) / Many Wonders (1987, Fukuinkan Shoten) / What is Evolution? (Aliki, 1991, Yugakusha) / Feathered Dinosaurs (Bird Museum Catalog, 1994) / Nikkei Science (1998, Nikkei Science) / Wild Birds (1999, Wild Bird Society of Japan) / Archaeopteryx and the Mystery of the Jurassic (Marco Signore, 2008, Kodansha) / Journey of Earth's 4.6 Billion Years (2014, Asahi Shimbun Publishing)
And let's also add the astonishing "The Mystery of the Archaeopteryx Fossil" (Fred Hoyle, 1988, Chijin Shokan), where British astronomer and sci-fi stalwart Fred Hoyle argued for the forgery of Archaeopteryx fossils, and the unconventional four-panel gag manga "Archaeopteryx-chan" (Yuka Matsuda, 2015, Houbunsha), which depicts the Mesozoic Era through the evolution of Archaeopteryx.
The CD "Archaeopteryx" by Charles Wuorinen is modern music. "Animal / Archaeopteryx" by Horror Our is progressive rock.
"Archaeopteryx Feather" (Shinkyo-sha, 1993) is a piano score by composer Yukari Inagawa, published in the year of Jurassic Park.

While other dinosaurs change their appearance with time, Archaeopteryx remains calmly depicted, much as it was when first discovered, with only its color recently turning black. Conversely, recently, small theropods have started to resemble Archaeopteryx, making them indistinguishable at first glance. Of course, this is partly because it was initially restored as a bird, but it feels as though dinosaurs are finally catching up. Archaeopteryx was great after all! Even if it loses its title as the oldest bird, or is reclassified as a dinosaur, the name Archaeopteryx is immortal.

＊The prevalence of blue hues in figures and drawings likely stems from Brian (New Treasure House Vol. 10).

Finally, please enjoy some old illustrations.

(Image 11) shows the frontispiece and illustration from "History of Earth and Life" in the Japanese Children's Library series, published in 1930. They have a wonderful charm.

(Image 12) features a pure white, elegant Archaeopteryx co-starring with a Glyptodon across time and space. I acquired this illustration on Yahoo Auctions, and it's reportedly a 19th-century German lithograph. If so, this is truly "Archaeopteryx Lithographica"!