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
BOSTON BOMBING AFTERMATH - 17TH APRIL
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 .
WOMAN TRANSFORMS HERSELF INTO CARTOON CHARACTERS USING PAINT
A makeup artist from the West Midlands magically transforms herself into famous cartoon characters using body paint .
STRANDED MOOSE RESCUED FROM FROZEN LAKE
A terrified moose, trapped in a frozen lake, bobs her head above the icey water and awaits her rescue .
HYPER-REALISTIC DINNER IS ACTUALLY DESSERT
From a platter of finger licking chicken wings to a bowl of Chinese noodle soup, these foodie snaps are enough to make your savoury saliva glands drool .
COUGAR: I FELL FOR MAN 18YRS MY JUNIOR BUT MY SONS DIDN'T COME TO OUR WEDDING
A woman has revealed how she left her husband of 24 years, after falling in love with a man, 18 years her junior .
AMAZING AMERICAN LANDSCAPES
This tranquil setting stretches for miles as the sun sets behind the mountain .
HYPNOTIST JAILED FOR SEX ABUSE
A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .
MAN CONTINUES HIS WORLD MAP BACK TATTOO
An American man continues on his mission to document his journey around the globe by completing a world map tattoo on his back .
PHOTOGRAPHER CAPTURES UNIQUE PATTERNS OF THE HUMAN EYE
A Romanian photographer has captured the unique patterns of hundreds of human eyes in a series of striking macro shots .
BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS
BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .
ADORABLE BEAR CUBS SHARE A HUG
ROLLING around in the snow, these young brown bears take a break from their play fight to share a tender hug with one another .
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 .