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Hasbro- Transformers Generations: Sandstorm.
I don’t think that I give enough credit to the engineers at Hasbro for the consistent amazing designs of these Transformers figures. And while Sandstorm is not my favorite figure to date (more on that later) I really appreciate the fact that Sandstorm is a heavily re-tooled version of Generations Springer that I covered way back on review 570-2. Now I certainly do not disapprove of Hasbro making re-paints, as Transformers have been practically built on the practice, but I wish I would have paid more attention to the original reviews when the pair was first released as I would have opted for Sandstorm only given that I liked his G1 toy much more. That said, in reviewing this figure, it is clear that Springer was intended as the primary design influence with retooling to some extent in order to sell as a repaint. My issue with that is that I really liked the look of G1 Sandstorm and wished they kept those design aesthetics rather than just giving him bigger tires in buggy mode, a rounded front end with some wing turbines in helicopter mode and painted him orange. I mean, can you even really classify this guy as Sandstorm at this point?
Pros: Despite my personal issues with Hasbro re-tooling Springer for Sandstorm, I still think he is a fun figure. The dune buggy mold is solid (once you figure out the back wheels), the chopper mode is a sleek update and the robot mode has a good amount of articulation with a good amount of poseability.
Cons: Overall the mold feels like a bit of a cop-out. I really liked Sandstorm as a kid, especially the rather bulbous Helicopter mode and while I appreciate them working the character in the way they did, he just feels like Springer with different parts. I mean, I get repaints and re-tools, but this figure was unique from the start.
