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.
FLYING through the air, these delighted pooches pull their best poses mid-flight .
A mum who weighed just 8st 1lb at eight months pregnant has battled her eating disorder to give birth to a healthy baby girl .
Lying angelically with a range of expressions etched on their tiny faces, little bundles of joy are innocently captured in their first few days in these adorable photographs .
A widow whose love rat ex-boyfriend left her homeless has had the last laugh after a judge ordered her ex to pay back £300,000 .
A Romanian photographer has captured the unique patterns of hundreds of human eyes in a series of striking macro shots .
LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .
Red squirrels are well known for their intelligence and curiosity but when one snapper caught this furry little guy trying to take his own self-portrait he couldn't help but be taken aback .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
A former cosmetic rep who swapped make-up for a career as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike has pocketed a staggering $4million (£2,630,000) as a full-time doppelgänger .
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
A Romanian woman is celebrating her new job as a knife-thrower’s assistant after leaving her family behind to move to the UK .