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.
Meet the real life princess who has spent £10k transforming herself into nine Disney beauties .
These photographs of extreme weather capture storms furiously rolling across the sky above America .
LIKE A scene from A Bugs Life, these ants work on creating their own mini community .
MEET the underwater British seal who is so friendly he loves to grapple divers like a friendly puppy dog .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
HOTSPOT MEDIA - FUNKY BUMP: FROM MIRROR bellies to rainbow bumps these pregnancy casts of stone and bronze could be the funkiest way to preserve your bump for posterity .
A pair of snarling foxes go paw-to-paw and brawl after unexpectedly crossing paths .
AN OLD ENGLISH cottage packed full of history and valuables has been left to rot .
Swirling water and sand create amazing aerial images of river deltas across Iceland .
CONTRASTING settings reveal some of England’s most beautiful landscapes in all their glory .
A 20st mum-of-four who was dangerously obese has lost half her body weight after her son drew her as a BLOB at school .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .