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 WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS AIRPORT
Those with a fear of flying and a ticket to Lukla Airport will want to look away now .
COLOURFUL KINGFISHERS DIVE FOR THEIR DINNER
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .
CHEEKY MONKEY KEEPS UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST NEWS
A small Indian monkey is seemingly gob-smacked after reading the latest stock market news .
NAKED AMBITION: WORLD’S LARGEST SKINNY DIP
Bathers on a New Zealand beach stripped naked and took to the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to shatter the record for the world's largest skinny dip .
BURSTING FIREWORKS
BURSTING colours of reds, pinks and purples give the illusion of a collection of stunning flowers .
WOMAN TOO SCARED TO LEAVE HOUSE AFTER HORROR HAIR DYE REACTION
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 .
GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS GANG JAILED FOR 12YRS
A gang whose £1-million supercar scam has echoes of the film Gone In Sixty Seconds has been jailed for a total of 12 years .
SLEEPING IN THE WILDERNESS
SLEEPING within touching distance of wild African animals might not be everyone's idea of a relaxing break .
NOSEY POLAR BEAR INSPECTS TOURIST'S TRUCK
STANDING on its hind legs, a nosey polar bear presses its paws against the window of a truck and takes a peek at the tourist inside .
WOMAN PARALYSED BY EX CAMPAIGNS AGAINST CYBERSTALKING
A woman who was cyberstalked before being shot and paralysed by her ex-husband is campaigning to raise awareness for stalking victims .
WOMAN ‘DIED’ GIVING BIRTH TO HER SON DUE TO HER 19ST FRAME SO SHE LOST 8ST 13LBS AND NOW SHE’S A SIZE 8-10
At 19st and eight months pregnant, Ashley Whitfield, went into hospital to have her baby son, Isaac, delivered by emergency C-section .
MIRACLE MAN SURVIVES 13,000ft FALL WHEN PARACHUTE FAILS
A skydiver cheated death after plunging 13,000 feet without his parachute opening but survived after landing in a bog .