Dr. Wu x Mechanic Toys MS-36 Sand Leopard (Legends scale Sandstorm)

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by gundam8864, Jun 25, 2021.

  1. Pun-3X

    Pun-3X Well-Known Member

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    I'm trying to figure out where everyone is crossing up Dr. Wu with MFT. MFT makes Legends Plus. Dr. Wu is clearly doing his own thing, even if he's being "universal" about it. But even then, it's more universal in Legends. If you have fit MFT's triple changers in with your Newage or MS stuff, that's because you're cool with it. They are actually too big (because, again, Legends Plus). All of those triple changer examples, MFT or otherwise, are too big for legends. Except maybe--MAYBE--Octane. Obligatory 'collect as you like.'

    So Dr. Wu's Sandstorm at 10cm is in a much better place for legends. And if that's what he's doing, I certainly hope to see the rest of the triple changers at this size (or nearer to it).
     
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  2. Alwayz bREALz

    Alwayz bREALz Come on… Let’s be REAL

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    I’m still confused about the whole MFT (MechFansToys) and Mechanic Studios thing. Are they the same or different??? I feel like these days I’ve been making this face a lot o_O 
     
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  3. Pun-3X

    Pun-3X Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, just hit me--Mechanic Studios, Mechanic Toys? Not the same groups (Dr. Wu's "X Mechanic Toys"), but maybe that's it.

    Or people are so into their MFT/MST triple changers, they assume all of them to be that size. I dunno...
     
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  4. LoserBroadside

    LoserBroadside Your ship just came in.

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    I WANT to like this more (as it's an update of my favorite G1 toy), but man it's hard. Those buggy wheels are WAY too small, for one thing.
     
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  5. Tanafor

    Tanafor Autobots at work

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    Mechanic Studios is a free lance designer. He partners with different producers to publish his toys. All the MechFansToys bots which start with 'MS' (triple changers, Hot Rod, Wreck Gar, etc) are his designs. Recently, he continued his 'MS' line with Dr. Wu instead, first Arcee now Sandstorm.

    So MFT and Dr. Wu are not related. They have just produced different Mechanic Studios toys.
     
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  6. lake88

    lake88 Well-Known Member

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    They alternate between -Studio and -Toys but their Chinese name, logo and weibo account have been consistent since they were producing the lambo molds under MFT.

    MFT responded to the Weijiang drama back then by cleanly splitting their KOs to the MFT brand, their original TF designs to Mechanic Studios/Toys and wholly original IPs to some other brand. Under all this smoke and mirrors they are still sharing a lot of facilities and resources. There are telltale signs like their packaging, boxart and blue background stock pictures from the same angles.

    Dr Wu joined up with Mechanic Toys some time last year to produce their Micromaster line. Mechanic Toys has since started releasing under Dr Wu's brand as well, which I suppose is for further distancing themselves from the MFT brand. It seems they've swapped to a new photographer too.

    The mess here isn't new to this lineage of companies, they've previously done similar KO/3P/grey/white splits as Machine Boy/FCT/MechPlanet/Hot Soldiers/MFT/IronTrans and that's not including their supermarket retail brands. If you're still confused, just give up trying to make sense of it since that's the point of all this.
     
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  7. Pun-3X

    Pun-3X Well-Known Member

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    Ultimately it gets back to my original point. These legends figures under Dr. Wu are a different size more universally compatible with standard legends sized figures. I hope the rest of the triple changers are made similarly sized.

    Still, good info all around. Maybe because I don't collect L+ I never really bothered to figure out the differences. And with the "Micromaster" line, I just saw them as Dr. Wu and was happy after that. Thanks for the breakdown.
     
  8. chuckcjc

    chuckcjc Wheeljack Engineer Corp.

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    Thanks for the info. This is very interesting
     
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  9. nhyone

    nhyone Well-Known Member

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    I thought of that too, but then I thought Dr Wu was going for bigger size since it was under MFT label. His Arcee is also 10cm, iirc? That's way too big for Legends, but will fit in Legends+ nicely.
     
  10. malcontentman

    malcontentman Cybertronian James Cagney

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    Seeing this really makes me want Hasbro to give us a new Legacy Sandstorm that is somewhere between a deluxe scaled dune buggy, but also a mass shifting voyager scaled helicopter that looks this good.
     
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  11. bacems

    bacems Well-Known Member

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    I am definitely interested in this, altough it strikes me as odd that they are basing his body on toy look, when the rest of the triple changers so far has been based on cartoon look.
     
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  12. JJJ

    JJJ Well-Known Member

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    Yup, it's what puts me off the most, and why I probably won't get this one despite having the others.
     
  13. Mad Prime

    Mad Prime Madness! This is Iacon!

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    Has there ever been a Sandstorm that looks like the cartoon version? Have the feeling that the cartoon version is just to hard to do.
     
  14. LoserBroadside

    LoserBroadside Your ship just came in.

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    Really, the only difference between the toy version and the cartoon version (apart front head) is that the cartoon version doesn’t put the windows on his chest. I suspect the animators were using, as a reference, a copy of the toy without the stickers applied.
     
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  15. djtotalcommander

    djtotalcommander Well-Known Member

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    I wait for toon version :D  This is not better than the G1 toy at all. Okay longer arms and can pose a little bit... but no head without faceplate :( 
     
  16. JJJ

    JJJ Well-Known Member

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    Uh, no. The really big difference is all the stuff behind and around the head.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
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  17. LoserBroadside

    LoserBroadside Your ship just came in.

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    It’s still there on the show model, they just shrank in a bit. I’m OK with them leaving it larger as it’s the entire front end of the helicopter. It has to go somewhere.
     
  18. LoserBroadside

    LoserBroadside Your ship just came in.

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    I’m surprised they didn’t offer two heads. One with the face plate in one without. I prefer the face plate, personally. The bummer for me is the omission of the engine on the back of the head. I’ve always really liked that detail. However, for those who liked the cartoon model, obviously he didn’t have that there.
     
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  19. publiwebsTransformers

    publiwebsTransformers New Member

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    I think this is a big improvment on the G1 version, outside of the face, pay attention to the shoulders over the arms, they look like they are going to have movement and be able to pose, guess tis going to be limited, but still is going to have shoulders. The legs, it has legs and torso, wich the G1 didnt have. FOR ME IS A MUST HAVE :D 
     
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  20. magicube

    magicube Legends Scale Collector

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    On their announcement for their Optimus Primal, Mechanic Studios reassures that Sandstorm will be released this year:

    Sina Visitor System

    Screenshot 2023-02-18 at 1.00.31 PM.png
     
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