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.
THIS is the awesome moment an Osprey catches its prey travelling at 50mph, giving new meaning to FAST FOOD .
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
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 .
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .
An American man who suffered horrific third-degree burns to 70 percent of his body in a childhood accident has faced his fears by becoming a firefighter .
She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence .
COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society .
A widow whose love rat ex-boyfriend left her homeless has had the last laugh after a judge ordered her ex to pay back £300,000 .
Whenever 46-year-old Melo Masi steps out of his front door in Berkshire, he risks being mobbed by strangers desperate for a selfie - all because of his incredible likeness to Hollywood megastar, Johnny Depp .
A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .
The family of a disabled boy who died in a tragic accident at a care home have received a four figure payout after an inquest heard carers allowed him to fall rather than restrain him because of "health and safety" fears .