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
THE SECRET LIFE OF SQUIRRELS

PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .

HUNGRY WHITE-TAILED KITE

SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .

EYE PAINTER

MEET the painter who makes his living squirting paint from his EYES .

GREAT-GRANDMA SPLASHES £48K ON FAKE BABY COLLECTION

A retired foster carer has spent a whopping £48k on her brood of lifelike dolls .

RELAXING SNOW MONKEY

WITHOUT A care in the world, this little snow monkey puts his feet up and settles in for a snooze .

HYENA HAS THE LAST LAUGH

This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .

SCHOOL BULLIES WON'T STOP BIRTHMARK TEEN'S HOLLYWOOD DREAM

A teenager bullied for having birthmarks all over her body now hopes to become a Hollywood actress to show girls that beauty comes from being unique .

19ST WOMAN LOSES 9ST AFTER GIVING UP GREGGS ADDICTION

A woman who was addicted to GREGGS has lost 9st after giving up her favourite food .

ANCIENT ABANDONED WEBSITES THAT STILL WORK TODAY

A host of websites that are almost twenty years old are collecting a cult following thanks to their retro appeal .

SCOTTISH COUPLE MARRY INSIDE BEAUTIFUL ICELANDIC CAVE

BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .

BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN

This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .

TEEN GIRL TRUCKER YOUNGEST IN UK

Blonde teen Jess Stubbs has certainly got girl power - as Britain’s youngest TRUCKER .