My newest 'frankenmixer'
I needed it like I needed another hole in my head, but it all just came together so naturally. On my way home from work Monday, I picked up a chrome Mixmaster 1-8B power head with a cord at a thrift shop for just a dollar. I looked carefully for the other components but couldn't find them. It was in better shape than the one I had sitting on a chrome stand, so I thought I'd just swap them out and let the other one become a spare or parts donor, whatever need arose first. But that was not to be.
Later that evening, I was idly surfing eBay (when will I ever learn that's never a good idea) when I found not one but two lots that contained everything I needed to cobble together yet another complete Mixmaster. To make things even better, both packages arrived together this afternoon.
One lot consisted of a pristine set of beaters and a large FireKing co-branded mixing bowl. As luck would have it, I already had the matching small bowl, which I had picked up at a thrift shop for $2 several years ago. The bowl and beaters cost me less than the beaters alone typically cost. The other lot was a 'yellow' base with a brown turntable for about what the turntable alone would normally cost. I put the word yellow in quotation marks because in the auction photos, it looked more nearly white, so I assumed it was probably almond colored, which I happen to like on appliances. The color was actually closer to mustard, as it appears in the first photo below, which was taken without a flash. I was able to replicate the color distortion by using the camera's built-in flash on the second photo. The 'yellow' on the eBay photos was even more washed out, appearing almost white. When I first opened the box, I was mildly disappointed that it was mustard gold instead of almond, but now that the thing is all put together, I'm getting over it rapidly. Honestly, it's actually starting to grow on me a little. Although to my knowledge, that particular combination never came out of the Sunbeam factory, it looks pretty good.
The only thing is I don't know what I'm going to do with it. I honestly don't need three mixers, although at one point a couple of years ago, I had four. I now need to decide whether to sell one, donate one to my church's rummage sale as I did last year. or just keep them all. I have even thought of playing mix-n-match and putting the best components with the chrome base, which I would probably do before selling or donating one. I don't know why I love these mixers so much, but I do.
