The dinosaur exhibition season is here again this year.
In the Tokyo area, the exhibitions that met my deadline were Makuhari Messe's "Giga Dinosaur Exhibition 2017," Pacifico Yokohama's "Yokohama Dinosaur Exhibition 2017," and the annual "Hakubutsu Festival."
Feeling compelled to write a goods information report, I decided to visit "Giga" and "Yokohama" on two consecutive days, but the results were disappointing...

"Giga Dinosaur Exhibition 2017"
The main attraction, Ruyangosaurus, was certainly gigantically impressive, but it was a crude exhibit not meant for close examination. Its unexcavated tail was also excessively long, leading me to suspect it was inflated for size, a sad inclination of mine. The skull was positioned so high that it was hard to see...
And then there was the "Kansai-style" Tyrannosaurus Wyrex (which I personally think would be too hot in real life) that could potentially displace the currently popular feathered T. rex. (It's not Kansai-style at all. "Wy" comes from Don Wyrick, the rancher whose farm the T. rex was found on, but there's no such explanation at the venue or in the catalog!)—Actually, this "Kansai-style" joke came up in a casual conversation among Dinosaur Club members when discussing the origin of "Wy," along with the Wyoming theory. A quick online search led me to this site, which states, "Wyrex is named for Don Wyrick, the rancher whose Montana ranch housed the T. rex until its discovery."

This Wyrex garnered attention when its scale fossils were discovered, but here, the sensational "cannibalism" seemed to be the main selling point. A reenactment video was playing at the venue, but its content was rather unconvincing.
Another T. rex steals a Triceratops that Wy has taken down. But then that T. rex, instead of enjoying the delicious Triceratops carcass it just acquired, chases after Wy, who is fleeing with a tail injury, bites off its tail, and devours it. Does such a creature even exist? I think the Triceratops's internal organs would be much tastier than a T. rex's tail, but perhaps that's just me being nosy...
More importantly, it was unfortunate that I couldn't clearly make out the crucial scale fossils, perhaps due to the lighting or my eyesight. Most of the other exhibits were from the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum's collection. Mixed in with familiar items, there were quite a few pieces from the "Great Dinosaur Migration" exhibition that I had missed, which was an unexpected bonus.

As for the limited-edition merchandise I was hoping for, there were only stuffed animals, sweets, keychains, and stationery, with no figures. However, figures by Mr. Araki from the "Great Dinosaur Migration" exhibition (a set of two dinosaurs, 5 types in total), which I had wanted for a long time, were on sale, and I was happy to splurge.
There was also the Concavenator set from the "Dinosaurs of Spain" exhibition (which I already owned).

The next day, I went to the "Yokohama Dinosaur Exhibition 2017."
I had absolutely no expectations for this one, as the advertised exhibits were limited to Stan vs. Kelsey (Triceratops) provided by Black Hills, and the rest were just dinosaur robots. However, as soon as I stepped into the venue, I found a corner explaining the history of dinosaur discovery with high-quality replicas of an Iguanodon skull, Mantell's Iguanodon tooth, and Buckland's Megalosaurus jawbone. The descriptions stated that the replicas belonged to manga artist Tokihiro Kato, and the explanations were by "Dinosaur-kun" Masato Tanaka. This was an unexpectedly strong start, with a retro, pleasant layout that brought to mind the Victorian era. After that, the exhibition continued with small but excellent displays, featuring Mr. Kato's drool-worthy skull replicas and Dinosaur-kun's precise explanations.
There were also esoteric items like the Gorgosaurus skull with a brain tumor (replica). And in the Black Hills complete skeleton corner, there was an ornithomimosaur with gastralia that might be a new species, Stan in an incredibly cool pose with its head down and tail raised high, and Kelsey (with very thorough explanations) which looked quite different from what I had seen before. Stan and Kelsey, in particular, were displayed so closely that you could almost touch them, allowing for a thorough examination from all angles—a truly satisfying exhibit.
I was pleased that the admission fee was worth it for this alone, but as soon as I turned the next corner, the world changed completely. A group of retro dinosaur robots, moving awkwardly and without blinking, like something out of a department store dinosaur exhibition from 30 years ago, awaited me. There was nothing to do but make a beeline for the shop.
And for the limited-edition goods, there were only stuffed animals, sweets, keychains, and stationery, with no figures... huh?

Since it would be sad not to introduce anything, I reluctantly? bought a box of sweets shaped like a dinosaur head. Please see photo ①.

Makuhari vs. Yokohama... Makuhari was the clear winner, but what does that even mean?!

Feeling that I couldn't end the summer like this, I placed my hopes on the "4th Hakubutsu Festival," held at the Science Museum on July 22nd and 23rd. This year, the booths of our regular paleontology enthusiasts were also working hard, and I had a great haul.

② This year's pterosaur from Hasamic World, where I buy a pterosaur every year, was a Darwinopterus. Also a Ceratosaurus. Both are small, less than 10cm, but as detailed as ever. What surprised me even more was the 1/1 scale mosquito. It's truly a divine level of craftsmanship. This year, if you made a request, they would cut it out right in front of you, so I requested a goblin shark.
I enjoyed watching the master's skillful improvisation, cutting it out swiftly while looking at a photo. And all for just 100 yen! It's 9cm long, but it has teeth and gill slits too.

③ Also familiar are Takashi Ito, the dinosaur potter's, 30cm-class Kentrosaurus and feathered Deinonychus. Like last year's Saichania, spiky dinosaurs are perfect for pottery.

④ At "Dinosaur Island," I acquired a Tapejara and a small Albertosaurus head magnet this year.
And at "Sunguts Honpo," which had deformed soft vinyl figures of sharks and ancient creatures, I ended up buying a nostalgic Nasobema lyricum (Mongerstern Oonazobem), overlooking the Diplocaulus.

⑤ Since "Hakufesu" venue, the Science Museum, is relatively close, I also dropped by "Jinbocho Wunderkammer" at Okuno Karuta-ten in Jinbocho, where I found these great items: a Tamba-ryu skull (under 7cm), a reconstructed model of Hyogobatrachus, a frog found in the same stratum, and at the far right, something like a dried plum, which is actually a pin of the Ediacaran Tribrachidium. All of them are pottery.

Finally, let me introduce my best purchase of this summer, a Tyrannosaurus skeleton model (⑥). It's a handmade piece by Mr. Yutaka Furuichi, who lives in Sapporo, and I won it on Yahoo Auctions. It's about 1/30 scale, but the detail is so amazing that it's just mind-boggling.
Look at the delicate cervical ribs and gastralia. It even has a third metacarpal and furcula (⑦). The jaw is articulated with magnets and can open and close (⑧). And how beautiful it looks on its lovely stand... (⑨).
In our correspondence after the auction, Mr. Furuichi told me that the Stan skull model he learned about in the Secret Treasure House Vol. 43 article was a reference for his creation. I am deeply moved to think that "Dinosaur Secret Treasure House" contributed, even a little, to this ultimate Tyrannosaurus.