The Mixmaster Hall of Fame - Unusual Mixmasters I Have Known

I suppose you don't necessarily take up such an odd-sounding passion as mine for the classic Sunbeam Mixmaster without making the happy acquaintance of a number of fellow aficionados - some of whom take great pains (as would I, had I the time and facility to learn right now; that, alas, must wait for awhile) to exercise it by restoring these remarkable machines from the bottom up and even lending them uniquely personal touches. Here are but four examples of such painstaking affection and work, from three who have proven invaluable to your chronicler since he first posted this Web tributary in February 1999...with, hopefully, more to come...

Jim Dayton's John Deere Model 9

Take one retired John Deere dealer with one passion for the classic Mixmaster---and the wherewithal to restore it---and this is one result. "A friend of mine had shown me a pair of vintage mixers. I seem to have an eye for things that are esthetically pleasing to the eye," Mr. Dayton wrote your chronicler in the summer of 2005. "To me, the vintage Sunbeam epitomizes esthetic, such graceful lines that seem to blend into each other with no sharp corners etc. I immediately had the idea that I could enhance this image with different colours, and where necessary, as you say, mix and match . . . We are fortunate to be able to spend January thru March in Mission Texas where I have a small shed that I work on mixers. I did twelve last winter . . . To use John Deere paint, both yellow and green, is second nature to me, it is by far the best enamel you can buy. Incidentally, all the painting is done with spray bombs, no air brushing. I'm 69 years old and very fortunate to have a hobby that is, as the saying goes, 'A labour of love'." Well, as another saying goes, I could not possibly say it better if I tried.

vtakro's Pink Model 9

Those of you who have been with this site since the week your chronicler premiered it will remember this Model 9 - it was the original lead-off image on the front page of the site! This Mixmaster was beautifully restored and painted by my friend vtakro, who is one of those creatures bearing a penchant for experimenting with colour schemes on the appliance restorations he does. (You Dormeyer and Hamilton Beach aficionados would love what he has done with those companies' best wares - his turquoise Dormeyer 3200, his likewise Hamilton Beach Model G, his pink Dormeyer Meal Maker, and his red Hamilton Beach Model E, for openers, now have loving homes and give faithful service - and a little brightness.) Recall from our main story that no Mixmaster until Model 11 showed up, in full production, in any colour option (chrome aside) other than white or ivory. (Model 10, recall, flirted with a very, very short offering in chrome toward the very end of its production run, likely as a test to see if chrome would fly on the Mixmaster.) Ivory, of course, ended with the conclusion of Model 7's production run. Pink, aqua, and yellow arrived for Models 11 and 12. And, Mixmaster Junior even saw and raised them one with bronze. But considering the tastefully arresting, understated elegance of Models 5-9, there are those who must speculate how they would have appeared in some of the 1950s colours. My friend vtakro does not merely speculate - he executes, and rather splendidly, as this Mixmaster displays. It would surprise me not to discover one fine day that vtakro (if my friend Decodan doesn't beat him to it!) yet figures out the way and executes, accordingly, a chrome Model 5-9! However, I am still trying to pry from him his personal favourite Mixmaster model.

Agent Roarke's

Wall of Sunbeam

My friend Agent Roarke is at least as much in love with the classic Mixmaster as I. The major difference is that I own a mere one and a half - I own a Model 11BC (so named because Decodan, whose restoration and repainting it was and from whom I bought it on eBay auction, painted it black and put a chrome front cap on the motor), and a Model 7B now awaiting restoration. Agent Roarke, however, has himself a wall of Mixmasters! Top shelf, from left, and never mind that straggling chrome Hamilton Beach Model H on the bend: Two Model 10s; a butter churn attachment; a drink mixer attachment with special beaker; the glass and cutter assembly for the blender attachment; turquoise and pink Model 12s. Second shelf down: Two Model 11s (the second from left is Model 11C), three white Model 12s, turquoise and yellow Model 12s. Third shelf down: Model 3A; four Models M4J or K; two Model 3Bs; Model 3A; and a pair of either Model 7B or 9 (at this distance, who can tell from under the mounting axle, eh?) Bottom shelf: Far right, two Model 9s (aha! the red-and-black decal gives it away!) and four Models 7B or 9. In front of bottom shelf, to far right of various editions of Kitchen Tested Recipes and How To Get The Most Out Of Your Sunbeam Mixmaster, Model 10. It looks as though about the only models missing from the Wall of Sunbeam here are a Model M4A-M4H, and a Model 5. But if I know my friend Agent Roarke, he will likely have that lacking plugged up in due course! (For those who might be curious, on the second shelfload of mixers down from the top, to the farthest left around the bend, rests a Hamilton Beach Model G. Agent Roarke also has a fondness for the Fitzgerald Magic Maid vertical head mixer which you saw earlier on site, on the page saluting the Mixmaster's worthier competition.)

KayParkPro's Floral Model 5

This very distinctively painted Model 5 auctioned on eBay in early September 2002 for very nice and appropriate dollars, indeed. It is the work of one Mary Ryan, who sells as KeysParkPro on eBay. "I am an artist, I love to paint vintage stuff, with a French or Shabby Chic Flair," says this retired nursing administrator and New York University graduate who "spent too much time in the Village in the 60s!" Our Ms. Ryan also has a similarly festooned Model 11 and has begun a comparable festooning of a Model 3B. "I am now perusing the beaches, and painting other peoples junk! Beach bumming in Florida and the Caribbean." She plans to land a condo around Key West, where she spends a bulk of her time, "then who knows! Paint and beach bum my life away." But something tells your chronicler that there could well be more Mixmasters to come with the crisp colour of her anything-but-shabby Model 5...

Decodan's Flaming Model 3

I am not entirely certain whether I had anything to do with this one - I have, after all, taken pains to point out particular automotive style snippets showing up on various Mixmaster models, beginning with Model 3: here you see the front motor vent grille in proper position, and it does rather resemble the horizontal radiator grilles of the 1930s automobiles. I also alluded to the even more overt automotive-like styling of the 1950s Models 10-12, crediting Model 10, born in 1950 (well, you can blame it if you want to), for helping point the way toward car-crazy, cruisin' for a bruisin' America. I'd love to say that Decodan merely saw and raised me with this Model 3 - how many hot-rodded old cars have we seen brandishing similar flame images in the paint jobs? But alas the uncertainty of memory and timing means that, in good conscience, I cannot. That and the fact that Dan has been such a friend - and tolerated such a pile - to your chronicler that your chronicler figures, best he quit while he's ahead! No matter. If you remove the flame paint, by the way, you'd still have a rather handsome appliance - and one which would fool your friends, in today's kitchen modelings, into thinking you'd just brought home a brand-new, freshly minted food mixer. Visit his site to see some of his many other custom coloured, fully-restored Mixmasters, including a rather smashing looking Model 9 painted in jade green and a striking, candy apple red Model M4J!