When it comes to Hasbro's recent leader class priced voyager triple changers in the Generations mainline not once has it ever felt like the designers extended the full budget such a price point would award; making triple changers smaller than they ever have before with at best equal hinderances to all modes to previous cheaper offerings but mostly ultimately worse looking versions of all three modes with only the articulation really advancing. And, sadly, Sandstorm does nothing to raise the bar.
The worst mode of the three is easily the robot mode. Or to more accurately describe it, a clump of missmatched vehicle parts with a comparatively tiny robot attached to it. Sandstorm is the smallest of all Triple Changers released thus far and feels even smaller due to his ginormous backpack. While the feet contain more that enough heel to compensate the weight the more pliable ankle joints ensure standing him is no simple task. The ranges on every articulation joint are also extremely hampered due to the sheer lack of room everything has in order to facilitate such a bulbous sack of alt mode rubbish. Otherwise the robot mode is decently accurate to the original G1 animation, though with a much larger backpack than ever present in it, the head more befitting the original toy or Wrecker comic appearance, and the far more obvious presence of vehicle kibble as is typical of the Generations Mainline. Accessories wise Sandstorm comes with a small gun, the detailing on which reminds me of the refueling rods certain Helicopters have to refuel planes mid air; a large rifle which fits adequately with his more agressive appearance; and a three part cage/winch system which deserves its own section. The two guns can be held in hand or stuck into any of the various ports all over the figure, and the cage can... hang out at the back of the shelf I guess. The robot mode is additionally plagued by a chronic inability to keep the torso together when moving the arms.
As usual with triple changers one alt mode is easier to get to than the others and in the case of Sandstorm it's the buggy mode. A quick hiding of the head in about 2 cm worth of backpack, the chest down to cover the hips and upper thighs, and collapsing the legs via a sliding joint certainly nets you a mode that definitely has four wheels and a cabin for a driver. While dune buggies are mostly frame Sandstorm feels far too girthy to plausibly be one making what details more akin to buggies feel tacked on at the surface level hanging off of what is otherwise a big solid brick which is at least successfully car shaped. In this instance my sympathies align with the designers, as no level of budget is going to make a big helicopter crunch down enough to fit inside a framework vehicle, even 3rd party companies have never pulled it off, so I can't hate too drastically on this mode. Granted out of all modes this had the biggest excuse to be the worst mode so the fact it's second best is teetering on both being impressive and pathetic. The buggy, featuring pinned rubber tires, is elevated enough off the ground that it successfully tackles rougher terrain unlike the majority of elivated vehicle modes which would take the opportunity to shove as much junk in the available space as imaginable. In this mode both guns can be stored underneath in the ports that once were the back while leaving room for it to roll, and the cage can be split into its three parts (winch, cage top, cage bottom) to be mostly stored integrated seamlessly with the buggy. The cage top goes over the engine, making the buggy look loads more structural; the bottom of the cag attaches to a peg formed from combining the legs and are double secured by the side flaps coming over exposed pegs, and the winch goes absolutely nowhere. The only port with the clearance for the winch to go is on the engine, which is covered by the top of the cage which means you can operate it. It's a shame, as using the winch as a tow cable would have made the buggy mode the most functional form he takes. Regardless the fact he uses 2/3rds of the cage makes it better for play than the robot mode.
Before going into the helicoper I would like to pause to talk about the cage accessory. It is the single worst of the "leader" triple changer throw in accessories. Astrotrain came with a caboose that turned into a launch pad and additional armor allowing it to integrate with all three modes. Blitzwing has a set of large hand blasters that plug onto the tank as additional missile launchers and on the jet as extended thrusters. Sandstorm has a cage and winch presumably for the helicopter, and when he's not a helicopter it's either in the way parts to be stored out of sight on the buggy or a completely functionless component that sits next to the robot. And that's bad enough on its own, but individually it isn't even functional. The winch is extremely tedious to operate, as it doesn't have a handle to use to wind it, and it is plugged ...
