It's good that you're not taking the hard stuff. You don't need it. I hate the feeling it gives. That's clearly why I've never used drugs (or even tested cannibis… and that's hard for people to believe since I was in a rock band in the 60s).
Mark, Glad your surgery went well and you're on a path to full recovery. Follow the surgeon's advice and take it slow. Good planning that you lined up some less strenuous tasks beforehand to keep you busy.
Gerry
Great news on the surgery!!!! You know to take things easy and steady. Prayers for a short recovery and the best results possible.
Thank you, Myles, Gerry, John!
Myles, you are right; we don’t take the pain prescriptions they call into pharmacy.
I’ve been here before, so I’m not in a hurry to try to do anything. I’m starting to not hurt quite as much with movement. Prayers are greatly appreciated!!
Morning Mark, I am glad you're feeling better! We have a shelf full of the Hard stuff that the Dr. prescribed after neck dissection. Pill form of Morphine that I might have taken 2 times and put on a high shelf as it was just not for me!
I will continue to pray for a speedy recovery and hope you feel better each and every day!
Mark,
I share your pain…and your aversion to pain killers. Over the course of 5 major surgeries over the last twenty years, I have accumulated, ignored and disposed of numerous bottles of oxycodone. 4 pills were used and 116 were disposed of. Stay strong; keep getting well; and building.
Rubin
Mark, I haven’t been around much lately but I’ve been thinking of you and hoping for a speedy recovery. Glad the initial period has been better than last time. It’s only up from here!
Andy
Hi Mark,
Catching up on various threads, thinking of you today and hoping for great outcomes all around!
Jim
Thank you, Mike, Rubin, Andy, Jim!
Continuing the story on the Burger Hut; I couldn't sleep last night, so I thought I would give it a go once again. I came down this afternoon, and discovered I had glued the parts correctly this time. I need to clean up the edges a little more before I glue on the little brick cover strips that are laying right at the rear of the building.
Building models isn't on the list of things patients aren't supposed to do until the meds wore off! How is one to know???? 
The custom sign Andre etched for me. 
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That's a great sign! The Andre to whom you refer is Andre Garcia of River Leaf Models? If so, is he still in business? The last contact I had with him was he was full-time with an Israeli tech company. He did my distillery and Woodbourne Gallery laser cutting.
Mark, looks like a great start even with a late-night start! I will be watching and hoping the best for you and the burger Hut!
Mark- good to hear that the surgery went well. Hope your recovery and PT goes the same. Watch it with the opiates. They will kick your butt....
I'm getting hungry looking at the Burger Shack.....
Thank you, Myles, Mike, Bob!
Myles, yes Andre Garcia. I remember he worked with you on some projects. Here is the scoop on his homepage. https://riverleafmodels.us He says he closed in October last year.
Andre’s kit has a narrower front window than the real Burger Hut, but it certainly passes for the real thing.
Mike and Bob, they make a good Reuben also.
Mark,
Great news to hear about your surgery. Looks like you have a great start to your Burger Hut. Really like the custom sign. No doubt, some light work on your railroad will assist in a smoother recovery, mentally as well as physically.
Dave
Gald the surgery went well.
Just back from vacation up at Lake Winnipesaukee and attached are pics of the actual Alton Fire Station.
We were there last Thursday at about 2:00 PM and there was no one around and the building was locked.
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Images (5)
Thank you, Richie! They keep it up nice. Thank you for taking the time to go over to Alton.
Took the pics while visiting friends in Alton Bay, so no big deal.
I'd say the kit is pretty faithful to the real one. I did note, however, that it appears they replaced the double swinging doors on the original fire station with an overhead door.
Richie, I’m glad it worked out. I did notice the new door on the prototype photograph that came with the kit. My hose drying tower may be a few scale feet behind theirs, but not much.
Now that you've seen the prototype, you'll have to make up a decal for over the front door
Actually, that sign looks pretty basic. Even I could do it on the computer, I think. 😄
I got a little more done on the Burger Hut last night when I couldn’t sleep.
the windows and side door are in. The front door is a bit loose fitting, so I left it go for the time being. The red rectangles are the strips that go on top of the brick walls to keep the rain from seeping through. I need to get some better lit photographs of the brick. I tried a new technique for painting the brick and I like the results first go round. When does that ever happen??? 🤷♂️
Earlier, I painted the interior. White walls with black roughly where the roof will sit. Note that River Leaf Models didn’t include any strips to support the roof. The roofs of both my kits from Andre are exact fit. Also, Andre didn’t provide bases/floors. I will look through my scraps for something to make a base.
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Looking good. When I first read the revised title, I thought that it said Burger King! Whoops!!
Ha, ha! That is certainly easy done!! 
Mark, a day late and a dollar short as usual, or should I say ten dollars short due to inflation?!
Glad to hear surgery went well. Are you planning any type of lighting for the lift-off section?
RJ, I look at it as, Better late than never! 😊 That’s the great thing about the Forum format, anyone can jump in and write something, a day, week, month, year later, whenever you see the posts.
Thank you. For underneath I was thinking it would be easiest to hand a section off LED road lights. As for the buildings on the lift-off or tilt-up as was suggested, I would just use some kind of easy disconnect plug on each building. This section will not have many, if any other buildings. Across the double tracks and over the yard tracks will be another lift-off/lift-up, probably two sections. That will be a town section, so a lot more plugs. In fact, even other buildings on solid benchwork would still need plugs. Thank you for asking. I can certainly get ahead of myself.
I updated the thread title Burger Hut Kit "Done". Done is because the "kit" is done, but I will be adding some interior and exterior details in the future. I am going to say it is done for now, since I don't have the details on hand like with my other structures. 
Here is a front quarter view as it stands now. Notice some nice details Andre included. First is the laser etched plexiglass for the front door and window. Those are really nice. The 'Burger Hut' raised letter sign is a nice touch as well. I wasn't sure if I wanted the 'Eat" arrow sign, but decided it added too much character to not add it.
I mentioned the other day about the technique I used for the bricks. Here is a close up view of the bricks. Closeup you can tell the mortar joints aren't painted separately. I just kept dry brushing burnt sienna acrylic craft paint on the tops of the bricks hoping to leave the lighter color of the laser cut material showing to not bother with mortar. That didn't quite work out, but I like the variations in brick color. I decided not to mess with it any further. From normal viewing distance, I am well pleased with the results.
Here is the opposite side and rear of the building which was designed to look like stucco that is starting to fall off. These two sides definitely need weathered if they are going to show when the town is built. I will cross that bridge when and if I come to it. I think another building will probably be placed right up beside this one.
Ah, the base. I cut it out of some thick styrene I have and glued on little posts to center the building when placed on the base. I need to decide what treatment I want for the foundation. But as I said at the top of this post, the kit itself is done.
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@Mark Boyce posted:I updated the thread title Burger Hut Kit "Done". Done is because the "kit" is done, but I will be adding some interior and exterior details in the future. I am going to say it is done for now, since I don't have the details on hand like with my other structures.
Here is a front quarter view as it stands now. Notice some nice details Andre included. First is the laser etched plexiglass for the front door and window. Those are really nice. The 'Burger Hut' raised letter sign is a nice touch as well. I wasn't sure if I wanted the 'Eat" arrow sign, but decided it added too much character to not add it.
I mentioned the other day about the technique I used for the bricks. Here is a close up view of the bricks. Closeup you can tell the mortar joints aren't painted separately. I just kept dry brushing burnt sienna acrylic craft paint on the tops of the bricks hoping to leave the lighter color of the laser cut material showing to not bother with mortar. That didn't quite work out, but I like the variations in brick color. I decided not to mess with it any further. From normal viewing distance, I am well pleased with the results.
Here is the opposite side and rear of the building which was designed to look like stucco that is starting to fall off. These two sides definitely need weathered if they are going to show when the town is built. I will cross that bridge when and if I come to it. I think another building will probably be placed right up beside this one.
Ah, the base. I cut it out of some thick styrene I have and glued on little posts to center the building when placed on the base. I need to decide what treatment I want for the foundation. But as I said at the top of this post, the kit itself is done.
Mark, your burger joint looks great. I also enjoyed the step-by-step tutorial.
Well done, Mark!
Peter
Looks great Mark!
Art
Nice work Mark! Now I want a burger.
Dave
Thank you, Dave, Peter, Art, Dave!!!
"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today"
I love it Mark. Great little structure.
Great job Mark! I like the realism you achieved on the brick. One of my favorite things to do on the layout is building and weathering the wood structures.
Gene
Great job on the Burger Hut! I hope rehab is going well !!!!
Looks fabulous, Mark!
And remember to eat your spinach!
George
Another great model Mark. I like the "Eat" sign too, adds character to an otherwise bland storefront. Marketing 101- make sure you stand out from the crowd!
Hope your recovery is going well.
Bob
Thank you, Joe, Gene, John, George, Bob!!
Gene, thank you, I was really pleased with the results. Yes, I think it is easier to get nice effects on wood than it is on styrene or other plastics. In this case, I took it slow, and it almost just happened on its own.
George, I yam what I yam!!
Bob, Yes, I thought the sign may be too garish for a small town joint, but then similar signs started being drawn from deep in my memory.
John, Bob, Everyone. I get my staples out tomorrow and get evaluated to see if I should start PT. Having been here before, I'm going to guess that will be the case. My wife says the incision looks good. The pain isn't as bad as it was a week ago, but my back does tire quickly. More important to me is that since surgery, I have not felt tingling going down my legs and I haven't felt like my knees would give out. That tells me that whatever was pressing on the nerves, isn't doing it anymore. Thank you so much for asking!
Good news so far on the tingling and knees feel solid! Hoping doc confirms this, that will be great news. You are in our prayers and hope for a good consistent recovery
I dig the brick! It came out great, as did the entire structure. Great work!!
Great skills on display with the build. Watching your progress, especially while dealing with medical issues, puts me to shame. Best wishes for continued recovery.
I can't recall if your layout has ever been in the magazine. If it hasn't, it should be - between the design, innovative use of space, and workmanship, it definitely deserves to be in print. And doing so will earn you a little bit of extra train cash. Tagging @Allan Miller...
Thanks for sharing your progress.
