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
BEAR CUBS AND DOTING MUM

A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .

WOMAN BEATS BDD BY BECOMING UNDERWEAR MODEL

A woman who suffered from body dysmorphic disorder has overcome her illness by becoming a LINGERIE MODEL .

OLD BUS TRANSFORMED INTO AMAZING HOLIDAY LET

FULLY equipped with a kitchen and lounge, it's hard to believe this modern holiday let is actually a BUS .

REAL LIFE VICTORIAN

A woman has taken her house back in time - by spending £10,000 to transform it into her Victorian dream home .

CHEEKY BABY GORILLA

THIS cheeky gorilla tries his best to wriggle free from his mum .

Desperate dog set off alarm before police smashed car window in Exmouth

The dog having been pulled from the car - A police officer smashed a window in the blue Chrysler car to free the dog which was in visible distress .

WOMAN WHO LOST 9ST SPENT £11K TO GET PERFECT BODY

A woman has spent over £11k to get the perfect body after a 9st weight loss left her with excess skin .

DOTING SEAL TICKLES HER PUP

A doting seal smiles at her sweet little pup as she tickles its tummy on the beach .

'MUM OF THE YEAR' FALSELY CLAIMED DEAD HUSBAND'S BENEFITS

Kelly Harvey, 30 and new boyfriend Ryan Archbold -A bereaved wife once voted Mum Of The Year has been convicted of benefit fraud after claiming widow's allowance long after her new partner had moved in .

OLYMPIC ATHLETES LINE UP IN LEGO 2012 AQUATIC CENTRE

If you tune into primetime coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games, you’re most likely going to see London’s new Aquatic Center from many angles as athletes from all around the globe compete for the top spot on the podium .

EVIL MONSTER KILLED MY DAUGHTER OVER SECRET ABORTION

The mother of a young woman stabbed 26 times by her ex-partner for having a secret abortion has told how her daughter was cruelly betrayed by her own social worker .

LIFE ON THE LINE: SLUM LIES NEXT TO ACTIVE RAILWAY

Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .