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
ADORABLE HARVEST MOUSE CLIMBS DANDELION

Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .

WOMAN LOSES 8ST AFTER ENERGY DRINK HABIT NEARLY BLINDS HER

A diabetic who was addicted to energy drinks has lost 8st after doctors warned her habit was blinding her .

KALEIDOSCOPIC CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES

THESE kaleidoscopic-like photographs capture England’s churches and cathedrals in all their glory .

HYPNOTIST JAILED FOR SEX ABUSE

A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .

FLY FISHING

A fish almost escapes the beak of a bird as they both soar through the air .

KUNG-FU FROG IMITATES KARATE KID

Balanced on one leg, a frog assumes the crane kick martial arts stance made famous in the movie The Karate Kid .

SINGING STOAT

MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .

RABID GIRL BIT NIGHTCLUBBER BECAUSE SHE WAS HUNGRY

A woman who left a fellow nightclubber needing plastic surgery after savagely biting her on the hand because she was hungry, has been spared prison .

MALE ANOREXIC DIED FOR 20 MINS AFTER SHRINKING TO 4.5 STONE

A man who developed anorexia as a teen has told that dying for 20 minutes helped shock him into recovery .

STUNNING ENGLISH COASTAL LANDSCAPES

WITH STUNNING colours and serene scenes, these photographs capture the otherworldly beauty of the English coast .

STORM CHASER PHOTOGRAPHS STUNNING EXTREME WEATHER

These photographs of extreme weather capture storms furiously rolling across the sky above America .