“Ill-fated” might be a good way to describe the Doepke Cement Mixer. It was dropped from the line due to numerous complaints that it actually made cement, which often hardened in the drum.
Built to 1:16 scale from 1947 through 1949, the Mixer was an excellent replica of the actual Jaeger machine in use during that era.
There were three basic versions whose differences are illustrated below.
Version #1 – 1947a
One view of the earliest 1947 Cement Mixer.
The very earliest Cement Mixers of 1947 featured large pulley wheels for lifting the materials chute.
These early mixers are rare because the pulleys were soon omitted.
The lift strings probably tended to slip on the pulley wheels, leading to their demise.
Another 1947 feature was the use of the spot-welded two-piece concave wheel.
Barely visible in this photo is a protruding tooth on the mixer drum for the drive chain. These are found only on early models.
The crank handle to turn the mixing drum was held on by a rubber sleeve over the end of the shaft.
The material chute lift arms were notched for the string.
Front corner posts were different than those used at the rear. They were not drilled.
Version #2 – 1947b
One view of the later 1947 Cement Mixer.
The major difference from Version #1 was the absence of the pulleys. Other minor variations are shown below.
The lifting string for the materials chute was now simply tied to the shaft.
The concave wheels continued for the remainder of 1947.
The teeth on the mixing drum were eliminated.
A crimp on the end of the drum crank shaft replaced the rubber sleeve.
No notches were present in the ends of the material chute lift arms.
All four corner posts were now interchangeable, simplifying the assembly line process.