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
WOMAN'S CAR BURST INTO FLAMES AFTER A SEIZURE CAUSED HER TO CRASH INTO A TREE – SHE SUFFERED BURNS TO 40% OF HER BODY AND NOW SHE'S A TRIPLE AMPUTEE
Marisah pictured today with scarring to her left arm - A mother-of-one has revealed how she almost died after suffering a seizure whilst driving that caused her car to crash into a tree and burst into flames .
MAGNIFICENT SNOWY OWL
An elegant snowy owl spreads her wings and glides effortlessly above the snow covered field .
MESMERISING FIELD PATTERNS
FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .
OKLAHOMA TORNADO
Destroyed buildings and overturned cars are seen after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, May 20, 2013 .
MENINGITIS TOT TAKES FIRST STEPS ON NEW LEGS
A little girl who lost all four limbs to meningitis has taken her first steps since the illness thanks to her new 'Princess legs' .
CHERNOBYL - 28 YEARS ON
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
MESMERIZING STAR TRAILS
MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .
CHIPMUNK YOGA
ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .
ABANDONED DAIRY FARM'S EERIE PAST
HEARTWARMING belongings lie abandoned in this eerie former dairy farm which has been left to crumble away for decades .
PEEK-A-BOO FISH: BRIT SNAPPER MAKES RARE FIND
A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .
WINKING SQUIRREL
BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .