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
FROG FRIENDS
PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .
POOCHES POSE IN THEIR ELABORATE HEADSCARF COLLECTION
WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .
8-YEAR-OLD GIRL ALLERGIC TO THE COLD
A young girl has been forced to stay indoors this winter because a rare allergy to the cold could kill her .
WINKING SQUIRREL
BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .
CHEEKY WHITE TIGER CUB
WITH HIS PAW covering his mouth, this cheeky cub looks amused by something .
EVIL MONSTER KILLED MY DAUGHTER OVER SECRET ABORTION
The mother of a young woman stabbed 26 times by her ex-partner for having a secret abortion has told how her daughter was cruelly betrayed by her own social worker .
'GRENADE' DIET PILLS PUT AIRPORTS ON ALERT
AIRPORT staff have been put on alert after diet pills that come in grenade shaped containers sparked security alerts .
WOMAN REVEALS HOW SHE FELL INTO A BONFIRE AND WAS LEFT SCARRED FOR LIFE
A woman has revealed how she was left scarred for life after accidentally falling into a bonfire at a friend’s BBQ .
CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
BABY ELEPHANT HAS FUN IN THE SUN
SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .
OWLS PLAY TUG-OF-WAR
TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .
BALD IS BEAUTIFUL: WOMEN WITH ALOPECIA TRANSFORMED INTO STUNNING SIRENS
A photographer has transformed women with alopecia into stunning sirens - showing that bald is beautiful .