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
BRITISH KINGFISHER SPLASH

BRITISH kingfishers love to cool off by creating a splash .

GRANDMA IS CHATTED UP BY TOYBOYS AFTER LOSING 12 STONE

A grandma who lost almost 12 stone after undergoing a gastric bypass has revealed that she now gets chatted up by men half her age .

WOOLWICH MURDER OF BRITISH SOLDIER

Soldiers standing guard outside the Woolwich barracks in London - Two terror suspects are under armed guard in separate hospitals in London after a serving soldier was hacked to death in the street .

WOMAN PARALYSED BY EX CAMPAIGNS AGAINST CYBERSTALKING

A woman who was cyberstalked before being shot and paralysed by her ex-husband is campaigning to raise awareness for stalking victims .

MESMERISING FIELD PATTERNS

FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .

WOMAN LOSES OVER 10ST AFTER DITCHING TAKEAWAY HABIT

A Hereford woman has lost 10st 3lbs after ditching her £260-a-month takeaway habit .

ABANDONED CARE HOME LIES FORGOTTEN

BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .

MOST DANGEROUS ROAD IN THE WORLD

AT 4,800 metres high and just three metres wide, this is the most dangerous road in the world .

BABY-FACED BURGLAR NABBED BY JAFFA CAKE

A BABY-faced burglar is starting a seven year stretch in custody after being nabbed by a Jaffa Cake .

AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: HOTEL WITH A TWIST

These uninvited guests ELEPHANTLY make their annual trip through the reception of this welcoming lodge .

A SMILEY GECKO SHEDS ITS SKIN AS HEATWAVE HITS BRITAIN

STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .

FIGHTING BABOONS

THEIR gnarling teeth at the ready, these two baboons fight it out for the last piece of fruit .