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.
Magical photos of your baby smiling for the first time are a priceless treasure for many a proud parent .
FLOATING effortlessly on his back, this little otter laps up a rare glimmer of English spring sunshine .
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .
Vikki Jose, 26 loves nothing more than lavishing gifts on her loved ones at Christmas time .
LIKE A scene from A Bugs Life, these ants work on creating their own mini community .
BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset .
A former soldier who bravely took on penny-pinching NHS bosses in his fight against terminal cancer has died, aged 37 .
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .
A gang whose £1-million supercar scam has echoes of the film Gone In Sixty Seconds has been jailed for a total of 12 years .