Built by: Duane Ballard in Nashua, New Hampshire

I wanted to build the surfite but take it a little farther than what's in the box. I bought a 1/18th scale display case to fit everything in before I started. I spread plaster across the base and coated it glue and then sand. I cut the campfire out of the kit base and glued it to the sand and made flames out of cotton swabs that I painted.

The kit went together pretty easily. The only problem I had was dealing with something so tiny. I painted it model master acrylic chrome yellow with a topcoat of clear loaded with gold pearl. I made the tag on the computer and printed it on thick paper covered with a piece of scotch tape. The only thing I added to the car was spark plug wires.

My favorite part of the diorama is the seagull on top of the Tiki Hut. I bought it at a craft store. He originally was sitting on a pier. I took it home and cut him off the pier, made legs out of wire and plastic, and stuck him on the roof. The bird crap on the roof underneath him is paint.

The shells on the base were also a craft store item. The last thing I added to the base were two photo etched six pack plastic rings that I've had sitting around forever. Thanks for giving me the chance to share it with everyone.