Artist Tatsuya Tanaka creates festive scenes with miniature models made from everyday objects

They’re having a merry LITTLE Christmas! How many of our Lilliputians’ surreal backdrops can you spot in these amazing model images?

  • Artist Tatsuya Tanaka has been fascinated with scale since he was a boy and used broccoli as trees for his toys
  • The 40-year-old father began collecting models used to decorate toy railway sets and has more than 100,000
  • In his latest work, he has created festive and wintry scenes from everyday objects and 3D printed models 

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There’s having a merry little Christmas. And then there’s having a truly tiny one. In this miniature winter wonderland, a bar of soap becomes a ski rink enjoyed by skaters just millimetres tall.

Reams of toilet paper become ski slopes, while cotton buds are a snowy forest for Santa to fly over in his minuscule sleigh.

Behind these whimsical creations is artist Tatsuya Tanaka, who for ten years has been making wintry dioramas out of everyday objects.

The 40-year-old father-of-two first became fascinated with scale as a boy, when he collected models used to decorate toy railway sets.

‘When I was young I didn’t have enough toys,’ he says. ‘Broccoli became trees and forest for my action figures to play in.’

Now, the walls of his flat are lined with floor-to-ceiling drawers holding the 100,000 models which make his ideas come to life.

He uses a 3D printer, hand paints under a magnifying glass, then positions with a pair of tweezers.

His snow scenes, which transport viewers to another magical winter reality, are his most popular.

Here, you can see why.

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Artist Tatsuya Tanaka has been making wintry dioramas out of everyday objects for ten years after becoming fascinated with scale as a young boy. Pictured: Santa is seen flying over a frozen forest made out of a container of cotton buds in his sleigh

Artist Tatsuya Tanaka uses 3D printer, hand paints under a magnifying glass, then positions with a pair of tweezers. Pictured: Looking for perfect skiing? In this alternative winter world, you can find pristine slopes on this toilet paper.

Artist Tatsuya Tanaka uses 3D printer, hand paints under a magnifying glass, then positions with a pair of tweezers. Pictured: Looking for perfect skiing? In this alternative winter world, you can find pristine slopes on this toilet paper.

His intricate snow scenes are Tatsuya Tanaka's most popular and it's easy to see why with the festive models he has created this year. Pictured: The white of a jumper becomes snow for children to make snowmen within this tiny scene

His intricate snow scenes are Tatsuya Tanaka’s most popular and it’s easy to see why with the festive models he has created this year. Pictured: The white of a jumper becomes snow for children to make snowmen within this tiny scene

The hole in a toilet roll is no longer just for hanging it in the loo. In this miniature world, it allows Santa to catch up with fishing

The hole in a toilet roll is no longer just for hanging it in the loo. In this miniature world, it allows Santa to catch up with fishing

In Tatsuya Tanaka's whimsical world, a white hand-towel becomes the perfect surface for a spot of cross country skiing

In Tatsuya Tanaka’s whimsical world, a white hand-towel becomes the perfect surface for a spot of cross country skiing

Pictured: A sugar jar offers the ideal snow for this miniature child to make a snowman

Pictured: A sugar jar offers the ideal snow for this miniature child to make a snowman

Fun in the snow: Here's an entirely novel use for a white paper mask - as a slope for miniature children to go sledging

Fun in the snow: Here’s an entirely novel use for a white paper mask – as a slope for miniature children to go sledging

Thought clips were only useful for organising papers? In this ski resort they are put to a new use as ski lifts for tiny skiers

Thought clips were only useful for organising papers? In this ski resort they are put to a new use as ski lifts for tiny skiers

In this scaled-down Christmas scene, a head on top of a pint of beer is perfect snow for a parent to pull their child on a sledge

In this scaled-down Christmas scene, a head on top of a pint of beer is perfect snow for a parent to pull their child on a sledge

Snowball fight: The white of a jumper becomes snow for children to make snowmen within this tiny scene

Snowball fight: The white of a jumper becomes snow for children to make snowmen within this tiny scene

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow: Soap once again comes in useful as the perfect surface for this elegant figure skater

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow: Soap once again comes in useful as the perfect surface for this elegant figure skater

A tiny Eskimo leaves footprints in the pristine snow which are really made from perforations in the spine of a notebook

A tiny Eskimo leaves footprints in the pristine snow which are really made from perforations in the spine of a notebook