MINI BONZAI MODELS - TREE-MENDOUS
These are the fascinating pictures of miniature table sculptures molded around bonsai trees that take up to a painstaking 18 months to create. Japanese illustrator Takanori Aiba, 58, has built the intriguing scale models of windmills, lighthouses and even the Michelin Man.He delicately uses craft paper, plaster, acrylic resin, paint and plastic to create the host of sprawling miniature communities that wrap around the tiny trees.Following his work as an illustrator for Japanese fashion magazine POPYE he has spent the last nine years producing the detailed mini worlds.The creations take at least three months to construct with his Ice Cream Package Tower taking an astonishing 18 months work. Since 2003, he has made eight models, with 10 more planned over the next few years.
Other great stories
ANGRY GIRAFFE DESTROYS BIKE
AN ANGRY giraffe gave a bush-riding cyclist a scare when he stomped his £2K bike into the dirt .
OPEN WIDE! MONKEY GIVES FRIEND AN UNEXPECTED DENTAL CHECK-UP
This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .
SCUBA-DUPER DIVER BREAKS RECORD FOR 50 HOURS UNDERWATER
A British diver has set a new world record for the longest warm water scuba dive by spending a mammoth 49 hours and 56 minutes under water .
AMAZING AMERICAN LANDSCAPES
This tranquil setting stretches for miles as the sun sets behind the mountain .
ABANDONED WILD WEST THEME PARK
The gunslingers are long gone and tumbleweeds have taken over at this abandoned American Wild West Theme Park in Cornwall .
SECRET POOL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT
HIDDEN in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a secret oasis awaits intrepid travellers .
THE WORLD'S MOST UNUSUAL HOTEL COMPLEX
AN underground HOBBIT motel inspired by JRR Tolkien is just one of the unique places to stay at the world's most unusual hotel complex .
NOSEY POLAR BEAR INSPECTS TOURIST'S TRUCK
STANDING on its hind legs, a nosey polar bear presses its paws against the window of a truck and takes a peek at the tourist inside .
FROZEN WATERFALL
A DARING duo take their chances and scale this spectacular 82ft frozen waterfall before it collapses .
SHOP BRANDED RACIST FOR ‘ZIP UP IMMIGRANT’ AD
A SHOCKING cartoon of a black man carrying bags saying‘’zippadydoohdah zip-up immigrant bags’ has appeared in a shop window and is being investigated by police .
SIBLING RIVALRY
SURROUNDED by a snowstorm, these young polar bears battle the elements - as well as each other .
DIGIT-AL ART: HANDY COLLECTION UNVEILED
Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .