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.
IN a galaxy not so far away lies a magical display of lights that could be the latest image from NASA .
Thousands of people are gathering at a stadium in Johannesburg for a memorial service for Nelson Mandela .
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend .
With blue waves tumbling over them, these surfers glide underneath a tunnel of water .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .
FORGET Thorpe Park this summer as this is a 50 mile-per-hour ride over the Colorado River CANYON .
A woman has revealed how she didn’t know she was pregnant until she saw her baby’s head crowning .
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
Beautiful turquoise waves rise and fall in a series of stunning images taken along the coastline of south-eastern Australia .