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.
An intrepid photographer travelled to the abandoned ghost town of Bodie in northern California to capture the historic buildings that are trapped in time .
This cheeky chappie is getting into all kinds of monkey business as he enjoys cooling off on a scorching hot day .
This starling and prairie dog will not back down an inch as they have a fearsome stand-off over who gets to eat a nut .
SITTING on a burning sofa unable to move, one man turns his terrifying dreams into reality .
A woman who suffered from an allergic reaction to hair dye that made her face swell to twice its size has been left too scared to leave the house .
A baby sperm whale assumed the role of a friendly giant when faced with two awestruck divers .
HUNDREDS of colour coordinated yarns lie abandoned in this once thriving textile mill .
football club has scored an own goal after it had to embarrassingly rename its stadium in honour of the DEVIL .
SURROUNDED by a snowstorm, these young polar bears battle the elements - as well as each other .
With one hand rested on his belly and the other propping his head up, this lazy lizard takes an afternoon break .
A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .
A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .