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.
A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .
THE THOUGHT OF BECOMING shipwrecked on a remote destination would fill most holidaymakers with dread .
A woman whose daughter committed suicide after being raped as a child, has revealed she donated her organs - saving four peoples’ lives .
A pair of chicks bravely decided to befriend a python, despite being the snake's favourite choice of food .
THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
A small Indian monkey is seemingly gob-smacked after reading the latest stock market news .
AN American accountant has grown the world's biggest MELON and smashed his way into the record books with his mammoth 350 .
As sunlight cascades through its vibrant stained glass windows, every inch of the Nasir-ol-Mulk Mosque bursts with colour .
An eight-year-old boy who lost his legs and left hand to meningitis is standing tall after learning to walk on his prosthetic limbs .
WELCOME to the Hidden Beach - the world's most idyllic BOMB SITE .
COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society .