With "Dominion," the long-awaited summer of dinosaurs has returned. I'll share the good news later. First, let's talk about "JW3: Dominion."

 

To my surprise, the Cretaceous period T-Rex vs. Giganotosaurus showdown I mentioned last time was cut from the main film. Does this mean that scene was produced solely for the trailer? While it raises some questions, it's a shame that I couldn't see the Cretaceous world on the big screen...

 

*According to online sources, the scene wasn't cut because of my meddling, but simply for pacing. It's expected to appear in an upcoming "Director's Cut." But it probably won't be in theaters...

 

Additionally, the scene where the T-Rex attacks a drive-in theater and the scene where a helicopter chases the T-Rex were also cut, and are simply summarized with the line, "It took three years to secure the T-Rex."

 

Mosasaurus makes only a fleeting appearance again, which was a letdown. What's more, it only snatched crabs from a "get-rich-quick fishing boat" in the Bering Sea and didn't eat a single human (though we don't know what happened after the boat capsized). However, there's a three-shot at the end with two humpback whales (much bigger than whales!), and while they appear friendly on screen, it's probably planning to eat them eventually.

 

The Rajasaurus, Quilmesaurus, Yangchuanosaurus, and Megaraptor figures released by Mattel as "Dominion" figures were, as expected, "characters that don't appear in the movie," a tradition of JP figures. Conversely, the Lystrosaurus, for which only mini-sized figures were released, was given a rather good role.

The Dimetrodon, the first Paleozoic creature in the series, also had a nostalgic, monstrous, subterranean vibe, but living in a cave with that body shape must be tough. Its sail wouldn't help with thermoregulation and would probably hit the ceiling... As I thought about this, the image of Dimetrodons swarming on the shore of the subterranean sea in the movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959) suddenly came to mind. It's the original "subterranean Dimetrodon." Could it be that the cave Dimetrodon in JP3 is an homage to that work? Perhaps I'm overthinking it.

Instead of the Velociraptors, where only Blue and Beta appear (and only exchange their usual greetings with Owen), the new Atrociraptor and the series' first modern feathered dinosaur, the Pyroraptor, play a major role.

Another feathered dinosaur, the small early tyrannosaur Moros, also appears, but for some reason, its figure hasn't been released in Japan.

 

There was a scene in the movie where a researcher boasted that they could now reproduce the true appearance of dinosaurs, which must have been referring to feathered dinosaurs.

 

In the scene where the Dreadnoughtus appears, a line says, "Its name means fearless." While that's true for the battleship Dreadnought that it's named after (the researcher who named the dinosaur, probably a battleship enthusiast, must have imagined that battleship), I thought the line was a bit off the mark.

If I were to give Dreadnoughtus a Japanese name, it would definitely be "Dokyuryu" (Dreadnought Dragon).

*I bought Mattel's Dread, but it's too big, so I can't assemble it until I find a place for it. Next time, I wonder if I'll be able to show off its magnificent figure...

 

Finally, the showdown between the T-Rex and Giganotosaurus. In the darkness, the distinctive original dorsal fin of the Giganotosaurus helps identify the two, which is convincing. Then, unexpectedly, *that* dinosaur intervenes, leading to a surprising turn of events, but you'll have to watch to enjoy that.

 

With the nostalgic members all gathered (which was good), the JP series has concluded, but since a world where humans and dinosaurs coexist has been established, if spin-off movies based on that world, like Star Wars, or perhaps even TV dramas, were to be produced, and JP dinosaur figures were to continue being released endlessly... that would be the beginning of a nightmare for me.

 

The movie theater's souvenir shop was overflowing with JW3 merchandise, but there were mostly stationery items like stickers, clear files, and notebooks, so I wasn't particularly interested. I just bought the 3D items for now.

 

 

Image 1 

T-Rex footprint coaster and a tooth keyring. This tooth seems to be a replica. The serrations on the posterior edge of the tooth are also preserved. At around 1000 yen, it might be a bargain.

Bottle caps of Blue and her baby. I wanted many more theater-exclusive figures like these, but unfortunately, only Blue was available.

 

Now, continuing from last time, let's introduce the Giganotosaurus figures.

 

 

Image 2

The Giganotosaurus, making its first appearance in the series and leaving a huge impact. It first appeared on screen in 2008's "Journey to the Center of the Earth," but at that time, its skeletal structure wasn't accurately reflected, and it was just a giant carnivorous dinosaur. This time, it's embellished and bulked up, but I think it's designed to look like a Giganotosaurus.

The top row shows the JP3 version of Giganotosaurus. This includes Mattel's "Super Chompin' Roarin' Giganotosaurus," which I couldn't introduce last time because it hadn't been released yet, and Ania's Giganotosaurus.

Mattel's figure is a good large size at 55cm and performs a peculiar movement where it twists its upper body when you press a button on its back. Mattel also has an even larger "Super Colossal" figure that's nearly 1 meter long, but I passed on it because it's too simplistic and I don't have space for it.

As for Ania, I always feel the urge to remove the meaningless articulated part of the tail to eliminate the gap. It's a shame, as it has such good proportions...

The middle row features a Safari import that I found on Sekaimon, as expected. The sculpting and paintwork are simple, but it's well-balanced and even exudes a certain elegance, making it enjoyable to look at. It's one size larger than the one from the same company that I introduced last time, measuring nearly 50cm.

The skull in the bottom row is a modern Chinese product. It seems to be from the same manufacturer as the Deinocheirus skeleton I introduced previously. Although well-made, it's only 10cm long, and 13,000 yen was a bit expensive. Moreover, since it's almost 1/20 scale, a full body skeleton similar to the Deinocheirus might be released in the future, leaving me with a slight unease about having to buy it again.

 

 

Image 3

*My Giganotosaurus bragging rights

In April 1998, invited by the late Ryuichi Kaneko, I went to the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) and DinoFest in Philadelphia (Secret Museum Vol. 20), and at the after-party venue, the Academy of Natural Sciences (said to be the oldest natural history museum in America!), a full skeleton of Giganotosaurus was displayed, which might have been its world premiere. I might have been one of the first Japanese to see Giganotosaurus! This is my bragging story, though it came to the National Museum of Nature and Science three months later for "The Great Dinosaur Exhibition - Rulers of the Lost Continent of Gondwana."

Image 3 is a photo from that time. Dr. Currie is in the right photo.

 

Now that the Giganotosaurus's name recognition has increased thanks to JW3, it's time for its relatives, the Carcharodontosauridae dinosaurs, to bask in the spotlight!

 

Generally, it's said that Allosaurus dominated the Jurassic period and Tyrannosaurus dominated the Cretaceous period, but in reality, the Carcharodontosauridae ruled for most of the long Cretaceous period. In North America, there was Acrocanthosaurus; in Africa, the Moroccan Carcharodontosaurus; in Argentina, South America, Giganotosaurus; and very recently, as if timed with the release of JW3, a new species named Meraxes gigas was announced, attracting attention for its impressive appearance.

 

Furthermore, from Central Asia, Uzbekistan, the Ulughbegsaurus was reported last year by Japanese researchers.

wikipedia

 

The tyrannosaur family grew larger because the Carcharodontosauridae declined due to some reason 90 million years ago, and the king of dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex, only reigned on the North American continent for the last 6 million years (some theories say 2 to 3 million years) of the Maastrichtian stage, at the very end of the Cretaceous period.

 

On the other hand, Carcharodontosauridae are members of the Allosauroid superfamily (Owen even asked "Allosaurus?" when he first saw Giganotosaurus in the movie, showing the resemblance), so the Allosaurus lineage was the apex predator on land for at least 60 million years, from the late Jurassic (about 150 million years ago) to the early Late Cretaceous. In terms of lineage, they are superior to the Tyrannosaur family, a distinguished lineage in the carnivorous dinosaur world. Shouldn't dinosaur fans revere them more?

*Quite a few dinosaur enthusiasts around me prefer Allosaurus to Tyrannosaurus.

 

Sadly, the evolutionary path leading to Allosaurus is not well understood. I barely found a description that ancestors appeared in the Mid-Jurassic, but there was no concrete explanation. It's quite unfair, as tyrannosaur relatives like Proceratosaurus and Dilong are being discovered one after another.

 

In any case, Allosaurus wouldn't suddenly appear in the Morrison Formation, so the age of Allosaurus will likely be pushed back by 5 to 10 million years. And as mentioned, if the Megaraptorans, whose classification is still uncertain and appear as figures despite not appearing in the movie, are indeed Allosauroids, then the Allosaurus lineage would have remained at the top in South America until the end of the Cretaceous (the Maip announced by Japan's National Museum of Nature and Science this year), meaning the Allosaurus family dominated nearly two-thirds of the Mesozoic Era.

 

*Modern dinosaur fans may not know this, but carnivorous dinosaurs were once classified into two types: large carnosaurs and small coelurosaurs, and everyone believed that Tyrannosaurus evolved from Allosaurus.

Currently, excluding the Coelophysidae superfamily and Herrerasauridae, which disappeared early, Tetanurae is composed of three lineages: Coelurosauria, including Tyrannosaurs and birds; Carnosauria, an Allosauroid lineage; and Megalosauroidia, including Spinosaurus and Torvosaurus. Additionally, there are Ceratosauridae, which have been gaining prominence recently (see the previous Secret Museum). Ceratosauridae were also a long-lived and diversified group, even more so than Allosauroids, originating in the Early Jurassic, producing herbivorous dinosaurs in the Late Jurassic, and surviving until the end of the Mesozoic as the peculiar Abelisauridae, exemplified by Carnotaurus. However, they were always plagued by the image of being the second-best carnivore; for example, in昭和-era boys' magazines, Ceratosaurus was no match for Allosaurus, and more recently, on Isla Nublar, Carnotaurus was easily dispatched by the Tyrannosaurus. This time, Carnotaurus made a cameo appearance teaming up with Baryonyx, with a scene where they eat a villain, but the minor Abelisauridae that were hoped to appear as figures were all rejected. (Please see the previous entry.)

 

Well, I've gone on at length, but now it's time to introduce the Carcharodontosauridae dinosaur figures. First, the original? Carcharodontosaurus

But...

 

 

Image 4

It's sadly few. Top left is CollectA, right is PNSO. The bottom row is Mattel's JW Dino Escape series, which only appeared in games in the JP series. The right one, which I hastily bought on Amazon because there were so few and it was lonely, is a product from the Chinese company Eden Toys. It's a bargain at under 1500 yen despite being 28cm long. Moreover, the quality was decent, exceeding its price. There were also two or three other Chinese products, and it seems Safari also released some. " Dinosaur Toy Museum " also had something like this.

 

 

Image 5

In the early 2000s, Osaka-based company Beauford Japan sold full-skeleton models of Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. These were 1/35 scale skeleton model series titled "Dino-Era Museum," which also included T-Rex and Spinosaurus. For some reason, they weren't widely distributed, and I only own the T-Rex, but thanks to the common packaging showing photos of all types, I can admire the rare Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus skeleton models side by side.

 

The skull on the right is a work by the ceramic artist Bs Lab, found on Creema, a site that sells handmade goods. It's a magnet. There are Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, as well as various other skulls available.

 

 Image 6

These are teeth and cervical vertebrae (neck bones) of Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus.

First, the teeth. The larger ones are replicas of Giganotosaurus teeth. Giganotosaurus teeth are rarely found on the market, and I've never seen any replicas other than this type. In contrast, the three teeth below, from a Moroccan Carcharodontosaurus, are real and are widely available, following Mosasaurus and Spinosaurus. They are also quite cheap, costing 10,000 to 20,000 yen. Currently, several items under 10,000 yen are listed on Yahoo Auctions.

*Some people are suspicious of their widespread availability.

 

The cervical vertebrae are Giganotosaurus on the left and Carcharodontosaurus on the right. Of course, they look similar, so I jokingly articulated them. The Carcharodontosaurus seems to be one size larger. This might be due to different parts of the body. Both have lost their upper structures.

 

The middle row shows the Giganotosaurus viewed from the front and back.

 

And the Carcharodont in the bottom row is a rare specimen where the top has peeled off cleanly, revealing the hollow internal structure. Like the amphibians from last time, I bought this from Italy's Zoic several years ago, and according to the owner, Flavio, this condition indicates that it was a subadult in the process of growing. The bone surface is also beautifully preserved, making it an excellent fossil.

 

 

 Image 7

Acrocanthosaurus is a dinosaur that has been known for quite some time, and it has a long and tumultuous history, having been classified as an Allosauridae, Megalosauridae, and due to its long neural spines, even as a Spinosauridae when it still had an Allosaur-like face (New Secret Museum Vol.20). Therefore, the number of figures of Acrocanthosaurus far surpasses that of other Carcharodontosauridae.

 

Top left is PNSO, which seems determined to conquer all large carnivorous dinosaurs, and top right is PAPO, which can't resist putting them in tricky poses.

Middle left shows CollectA and Safari. All of them are unique and well-made. The Acrocanthosaurus style might be easy to work with. On the right are products from domestic manufacturers: Dinosaur King: Dinosaur Royal Chronicle (SEGA TOYS), Great Dinosaur Age (Happinet), an unknown manufacturer's 3D puzzle, and ChocoQ Zaurus.

The bottom row shows skeleton models. These are all ChocoQ Zaurus and Capsule Q Museum: Dinosaur Excavation Record by Kaiyodo, along with an assembly model by r_planning. And the magnificent skull created by Ryoichi Furuya, introduced in New Secret Museum Vol.21. I took it out of its case for the first time in a while and gazed at it, absolutely captivated.

 

Other Acrocanthosaurus figures include those from Rebor, Schleich, and Jurassic Hunter. There are also several small ones, which you can find here:

"Dinosaur Toy Museum - Exhibition Room"

 

The final Carcharodontosauridae is the Mapusaurus. Though not a widely known dinosaur, it came to Japan with a juvenile fossil for "The Great Dinosaur Exhibition: Rulers of the Unknown Southern Hemisphere" held at the National Museum of Nature and Science in 2009, gaining a reputation as a parent-and-child dinosaur.

After that, Mapusaurus was no longer a hot topic, and I had completely forgotten about it, but recently I found its name in a book and was shocked. The book was "Puri Puri," a childcare magazine completely unrelated to my life. An acquaintance, knowing I collect information on dinosaur books, told me, "There's a dinosaur in it." It was the third installment of a series I didn't understand at all, titled "Recording and Reflecting on Childcare: Childcare Leading to 10 Aspects," and its title was "Dinosaur Fossils." The content began with a dinosaur-loving 3-year-old boy A excitedly exclaiming, "I found a Mapusaurus fossil!" It then described how the children collected pebbles in the garden, imagining them as fossils, and built dinosaurs with blocks, displaying them to create a museum-like space to play. Experts then discussed dinosaur play in a symposium format, but of course, no one was flustered, asking, "How does a 3-year-old know Mapusaurus?!"

 

For me, the fact that a 3-year-old would name "Mapusaurus" instead of "T-Rex," "Tricera," or "Stego" is nothing short of astonishing. Is this the flow of the times...?

Indeed, for the past decade or so, the variety of dinosaurs listed in children's educational encyclopedias is far greater than what even adult visual encyclopedias can offer, and recently, this trend seems to have spread to children's picture books. Kodansha's 2020 release, "Dinosaurs 300," an encyclopedia for young children, features Mapusaurus, Moros, Tyrannotitan, Tsaagan, Teratophoneus... Dinosaurs whose names I can't even pronounce smoothly, are listed with realistic illustrations and only their names, without any explanation. The intention is apparently for young children who can't read yet to enjoy looking at the pictures. Perhaps this was the first book A-kun saw a dinosaur in.

 

 

Image 8

A photo of the "fossil" found by 3-year-old A-kun, arranged alongside an illustration of Mapusaurus taken from the internet. The way it follows the backbone is impressive. (Image 3)

*From "Puri Puri" June 2022 issue, page 70, Sekai Bunka Publishing Inc.

*The illustration seems to be from here.

Cover of "Dinosaurs 300"

 

The figure on the far right of the bottom row was sold exclusively at the venue of the Great Dinosaur Exhibition in 2009, as mentioned earlier. The other two are CollectA products, which for some reason are particularly fond of Mapusaurus. In fact, there's another deluxe version, but I'm starting to feel a bit weak and wonder if I really need it. Other than that, there's only a diorama model from the Chinese manufacturer M-see, which costs nearly 30,000 yen and is out of my price range, and a loosely made Jurassic Hunter series model, which is a bit disappointing...

"Dinosaur Toy Museum" also features a limited-edition stuffed animal from the Great Dinosaur Exhibition and the "parent and child" Hone Hone Zaurus.

 

I've used up a lot of space with an unexpected turn of events.

I plan to continue discussing JW3 next time, and possibly through the end of the year, but for now, I'll conclude this segment by introducing Ania's series.

 

 

Image 9

The Parasaurolophus's highlight is that it can pose for the lasso scene. The Atrociraptor also has a set of three different colored ones, allowing you to collect all four as in the movie, but in the movie, they weren't color-coded and were all light gray. One of those light gray ones is included in the set, which is somewhat bittersweet.

It's a problem that Mattel doesn't have affordable sizes.

 

Now, about the revived summer dinosaur event. I've already been three times in July. Here's a brief report on my findings.

 

Fossil Hunter Exhibition

The first half of the "Fossil Hunter Exhibition" at the National Museum of Nature and Science was a display commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Andrews Expedition, and the videos and photo panels were very interesting. However, as for souvenirs, the Tibetan rhinoceros found in Tibet, displayed in the latter half, was the highlight. The real thing wasn't as gigantic as its description of a "super giant beast of the Himalayas" suggested, but its massive horns were highly impactful. The souvenirs also had a nice touch, and I couldn't resist buying the forbidden plush toy. The laser-cut skeleton model was also excellent.

 

Image 10

I also have a miniature replica of a skull made with a 3D printer, but I'm hesitant because it costs almost 10,000 yen and is too small. That's the lesson I learned from the Giganotosaurus skull.

I laughed at the woolly rhino sleeping bag that costs 100,000 yen, but I wonder if anyone actually bought it.

 

Wonder Festival 2022 Summer

I went to Makuhari for the first time in a while. The unchanging feeling of it being an otaku pilgrimage site is comforting. Although there weren't as many paleo-related items as I had hoped, I still found some good things.

 

 

Image 11

The skulls of Dunkleosteus and Smilodon are works by students from ECC Beauty and Art College in Osaka. They are said to be made with a 3D printer, and it seems they used a very high-precision printer (school equipment?), as there are no visible layers. What's more, at 3,000 yen for these beautifully colored pieces, it's a wonderfully destructive price. The sellers were cute girls in maid costumes, and I enjoyed the indescribable gap between them and the products.

 

The deformed Spinosaurus is a work by Shinzen Takeuchi of SINZEN Zokei Kenkyusho. It's a garage kit distributed for 2,000 yen to those who purchased his book "Making Creatures with Clay! Dinosaur Edition," published in May, at the venue. I already owned the book, so I had him sign the back of the kit. It had been a long time since I'd seen Shinzen-san, and we had a good time reminiscing, saying things like, "It's almost been 30 years since we met, hasn't it?" It had also been a long time since I made a resin kit, though all I did was remove the parting lines and paint it.

 

Paleo-Creature Joint Exhibition

This was also held for the first time in three years since I reported on it in New Hihoukan Vol. 50. Unlike the scorching hot reptile cafe in Yokohama last time, this time it was in a rented basement space in Ikebukuro with air conditioning, but the members gathered were the same deep dinosaur enthusiasts as always. I got to hear a discussion about skeletal diagrams between the organizer, Seiji Yamamoto, and G. Masukawa (Laelaps-san), who recently made his major debut with "New Dinosaur Skeletal Diagrams." I also had the meaningful opportunity to ask Laelaps-san directly about carcharodontosaurids. But most of all, it's a joy to be present in a space where dinosaur lovers gather and relax.

My spoils of war from that day

 

Image 12

The miniatures are Saurlopelta and Diplocaulus from Asaina-san, who loves armored dinosaurs. When stared at with such eyes, I had no choice but to buy them. They now sit on my shelf next to the Velociraptor I bought last time. The round one is a cork coaster made by cartoonist Hatsue Morimoto. It was a well-used, non-commercial item, but I received it. The devil-like Velociraptor is cool! On the right is a paper cut-out reminiscent of Scissorshands. It's a work by a young artist named Makubero Kuro. If you make a request, they'll make it on the spot, and it's only 100 yen per request. I feel bad for requesting the Carcharodontosaurus skull, which seems quite intricate, let alone the Archaeopteryx. The result, as you can see, is fantastic!

Below are a number of doujinshi that I couldn't resist buying at the venue. You can probably tell how deep they are just by their covers, without any further explanation.

 

Dinosaur summer continues. In early August, I'll be participating in a fossil forum in Shokawa Town, Gifu. It's probably been about 20 years since I last went to Shokawa. I'm looking forward to seeing familiar faces and hearing valuable talks from researchers.

There will also be a dinosaur event in Minato Mirai, Yokohama, in August, and from the end of August, the annual "Wunderkammer" will be held at Okuno Karuta Shop in Jimbocho. Something seems to be happening at the Kawasaki Aquarium as well, so I plan to go wherever I can.

Look forward to the next report.