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
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 .
WOMAN LOSES 11ST AFTER £11K GASTRIC SLEEVE OP
A woman has shed half her body weight after undergoing a gastric sleeve op to shrink her stomach .
A LOT OF BOTTLE: ARTIST PAINTS PICTURE USING JUST COKE
This artist had a lot of bottle to re-create a masterpiece painted with nothing but 24 litres of cola .
MILLIONS OF LUMINOUS FISH DWARF DIVERS
SWIMMING in unison, millions of silverside fish dwarf the divers .
INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF HINDU HOLY MEN
COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society .
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 .
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 .
OSPREY FISHING IN SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
An osprey soars through the air at 30 miles per hour before swooping down to catch its prey from a lake .
ABANDONED TAVERN AND FARM SHOP
STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .
WORLD'S MOST IDYLLIC BOMB SITE BEAUTY
WELCOME to the Hidden Beach - the world's most idyllic BOMB SITE .
LOVE RAT FIANCE CHEATED WITH MY MUM
When Kylie Holgate discovered her fiancé was having an affair, her world came crashing down .
POLAR BEAR PLAY
WITH SNOW COVERING the ground around them, these two polar bears play fight .