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
MOUNT BROMO METEOR SHOWER
A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .
ET PHONE THIS NUMBER: UK'S FIRST HOTLINE FOR ALIEN ABDUCTEES
The UK's first hotline - and possibly the galaxy's - for people who have been targeted by aliens has opened to the public .
SNEAKY OTTER
A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish .
MAGNIFICENT SNOWY OWL
An elegant snowy owl spreads her wings and glides effortlessly above the snow covered field .
ADORABLE STOAT HUNTS IN THE SNOW
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
BULLY HUBBY LEFT ME SCARRED FOR LIFE AFTER HEAD-BUTTING ME IN THE EYE FOLLOWING DREAM WEDDING
Lauren Kilgariff, 29, was with husband, Shaun, 31, for four years .
PENSIONER’S 100K MILK BOTTLE COLLECTION
FOR someone who hates milk, pensioner Steve Wheeler has got an udder-lot of it - nearly 20,000 bottles in fact .
STUNNING ALICE IN WONDERLAND WEDDING RECEPTION
A couple celebrated tying the knot with a spectacular Alice in Wonderland-themed wedding reception .
NATURE'S MOST STUNNING SHAPES AND PATTERNS
FROM ICE bubbles to boiling lava, these photographs highlight the stunning shapes and patterns found in nature .
UK'S STRONGEST SCHOOLGIRL
THE UK’S STRONGEST SCHOOLGIRL attributes her success to the bendy-body condition that once left her body wracked in pain .
SPECTACLED BEAR IS CHRISTMAS STAR ON ZOO’S TREE
Most people have an angel at the top of their Christmas tree, but one bear at Chester Zoo decided he wanted to be the star of the show .