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
DAUGHTER KILLED HERSELF AFTER BEING RAPED – BUT SAVED FOUR PEOPLES' LIVES THROUGH ORGAN DONATION

A woman whose daughter committed suicide after being raped as a child, has revealed she donated her organs - saving four peoples’ lives .

WIFE CELEBRATES MARRIAGE BY SNOWBOARDING IN WEDDING DRESS

SNOWBOARDING in your £2,000 wedding dress sounds like a nightmare for most brides .

DANCER REFUSES BIRTHMARK REMOVAL TO KEEP HER INDIVIDUALITY

A professional dancer has embraced her individuality after refusing plastic surgery to remove a giant birthmark on her face .

EASTER ISLAND REPLICA STATUES DESTROYED IN SEA FALL

A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .

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' .

MAKING A SPLASH - GORILLA GOES APE IN WATER

While often referred to as the kings of the jungle, gorillas - for all their might - are notorious hydrophobes .

BABY WHALE AND MOTHER LAP UP TOURIST ATTENTION

A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .

OKLAHOMA TORNADO

Destroyed buildings and overturned cars are seen after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, May 20, 2013 .

PUTIN'S TINY ARMY 

Some parents would gasp at the thought of their children playing with a toy gun, but these Russian children are actually encouraged to take up real arms .

WAVE-ING GOODBYE TO RUSH HOUR

HOTSPOT MEDIA - WAVE-ING GOODBYE TO RUSH HOUR: WHILE most workers endure commuting chaos by road or rail everyday, one entrepreneur has come up with a novel way to get to the office - by KAYAK .

NEW FLEECE OF LIFE FOR WHEEL CHAIR SHEEP

A disabled sheep is enjoying a new fleece of life after receiving a specially-designed wheelchair .

THREE'S A CROWD

SWOOPING down from the sky, this agitated eagle is looking for a fight .