So I've been looking at this... I still don't see how "relative" g1 accuracy would preclude a Sandstorm. I mean, inaccurate to the animation for Springer, this figure has visible wheels approximate to the shoulders and the lower legs, like the image of Sandstorm here. The "relative" allowance would seem to specifically be what makes it possible.
As others have said, it would for sure need new: head, chest, shoulders (fronts at least)... and if trying to match this from the cartoon, something like a cowl piece to be the top layer of the helicopter tail that flips up to just stick way up in bot mode like the cartoon had.

That would look way more than nothing like this character, and if such visual markers are present I dont think it "has" to be an all new mold to make it. I'm not saying it will happen, but just that it's far from "not possible" just because of the cartoon... and that I want it to happen.  

 

Honestly, I'd rather have Springer repainted as Deadlock.

Sandstorm would need the shoulders, back and chest remolded. Keeping the helicopter cowlings attached to the back, thus exposing the wheels in car mode and keeping his shoulders naked.
Having the cowlings in the back off the shoulders might in able his intense back that he has.

His toy actually looks great.

I'd really like the toy head!

 

He has the look, the pieces are mostly in the right spot. And his alt modes are dead on. Sandstorm will always be a difficult thing, since he is a dune buggy that goes into a massive helicopter mode. I think the T30 armoured car/Vtal did a great job.

 

So these instruction videos are posted somewhere on the linked official site? I can\'t find them on my own. Hopefully future videos will get similar news stories.

 

They are on https://transformers.hasbro.com/en-us/teletraan1
You have to use the decoder to enter the codes found on the packaging to unlock the bios, and the videos are found on the bios.
For instance, if you enter PRAXUS you unlock Prowl's bio and video.

 

Ok, I'll probably leave that stuff to those that are into it and hope they share their findings in the Generations news. Thanks for the info.

 

Sandstorm is prolly my favorite G1 toy, so I have ALSO been staring at Springer a lot, trying to Sandstormify him (since, let's be honest, Hasbro will probably never give us an original Sandstorm mold sadface).

For firstly, I agree, I LOVE the G1 toy head. And I would love to see them not only use that as the basis, but include the engine block on the back of his head. To me, that's a far more iconic part of his head design than the old debate over his mouth/faceplate.

In terms of what would need to be remolded, I contend only two or three things, other than the head, would need to be retooled to give a pretty solid G1 Sandstorm. The shoulders actually wouldn't need to be, as you can transform his upper arms with the shoulder bits vertical, just like the G1 Sandstorm toy.

The chest would need to be retooled, and I would love to see it based not on Sandstorm's buggy roof, but on his copter front. Why? Well:

That way, if they slightly retool the cockpit andcowling section so as to face the reverse, you could have the cowling section fold back to mostly cover the chest part in buggy mode. Reversing the direction of the buggy mode also gives the buggy a longer front section, and make the narrower wheelbase more appropriate. Since you can keep the tailfins inside the legs in car mode on Springer, they would work fine in this reversed configuration.

Other than that, I would like to see them retool/replace the swords, which are a Springer-character weapon, with a pair of rotors that double as bipods for a sniper rifle. The guns and rotor section could remain the same, just in black. Just peg the two guns together, peg the rotor section to the bottom of the front-gun's handle, and then peg the rotor/bipods to either side: sniper rifle for our G1 scout!

 

I'm honestly hoping to see the Siege Springer mold be repainted into Drift since the mold does share similarities design wise and it helps that Deadlock's design in Cyberverse homages the Guido G1 styled look for him too.