In a toy line that is now filled with a ton of cartoon and movie accurate decos, there are quite a few repaints that get forgotten or prioritized less. Some of these repaints are honestly way better than their accurate toon colors. One such three pack is the Refraktor Reconnaissance Team. If you love cameras and robots that will infiltrate your home to blackmail you, this is a pack to track down.
CONTENTS AND BOX
The pack comes with three Refraktors (Reflectors) in toy accurate colors and camera parts not included with the standard Siege release. It also contains a yellow Kremzeek figurine. I’m not sure if it’s the same mold as past Kremzeeks, but it is a very fun addition to the pack. The box itself is also interesting, with a convex plastic “lens” protruding out of the cardboard box, allowing you to see the toys in camera mode inside. The box also has some writing detailing the team and making the set feel substantial within the story of Siege. Keep in mind this was made before the Siege show released on Netflix. This and other exclusives at the time included story bits on the packaging to really sell the story they were going for we the line.
CAMERA MODE
Camera mode for the Refraktor team is interesting, as it has to accomplish the three bots becoming a camera despite them being different colors. The trick Hasbro does to hide this is they included three new camera parts: a grip piece, a viewfinder piece, and a flash piece. The grip goes over the red bot, Spectro, and makes the right side of the camera more curved to really resemble the grip on a camera. The grip section also hides a lot of the red on Spectro so the camera looks consistent across the front. The viewfinder piece in the middle and the flash piece on the left aid in making the camera mode way more fleshed out. It’s no longer a flat rectangle.
SPECTRO
Spectro is one of the more striking bots in the set due to being the only one in black and red. The others are various shades of blue. I’m a sucker for the color scheme so I do have bias with this guy. I only wish the grip piece he has as his extra accessory could hinge and more spots. The piece can be hindersome in some poses.
VIEWFINDER
Viewfinder is who I’m assuming is the leader of the Refraktor team. His extra accessory is the viewfinder piece from the camera that now splits into two bulky shoulder pads. These plug into the back shoulder vents and do make him look more beefy. His colors are nice and basically Siege Refraktor if you turned the hue to more blue. I forgot to mention that all of these guys do have a combination of metallic paint, metallic plastic, and normal plastic. It somewhat works and then doesn’t at the same time.
SPYGLASS
Spyglass is the weakest of the Refraktor team. His extra accessory is the flash piece of the camera. However, it doesn’t do too much outside of pegging onto a shoulder or using it as a gun. You know, to flashbang an Autobot! This bot is the reason I said the plastic and paint combos don’t always work. He has a shade of blue for the top half of his body. However, that is done with a metallic painted chest and also opaque plastic arms. The combination of that feels super weird and I feel like it would’ve looked better with gray arms.
KREMZEEK
Kremzeek!
SHIP MODE
No photos for this but if you have seen the normal Refraktor release, it’s basically the same weird ship mode. The team is meant to be in camera mode so that’s how I transform them. I’m just letting you know the ship modes are still an option. Not all of the new camera pieces can incorporate into that mode for each of the bots.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Despite some odd paint work and minor issues with the new parts, the Refraktor Reconnaissance Team is an awesome set. I will actually say it’s better than the G1 colors version just because it gives the three bots their own names (like the old toy) and they get their own color schemes. Variety on a shelf is good and this will go on my shelf as my Refraktor. You can also get this set and put the new camera pieces onto your existing Siege Refraktor camera. The colors are generic enough to work with it. All in all, a fun convention exclusive set that should still be affordable enough to buy off eBay…or a random GameStop that had this one on clearance for $13-$20.
Source: The AllSpark
