You still can bbts has them in stock same with amazon. Both at great prices. Cheaper than ebay and marketplace.

 

Reflector taking a picture with HIMSELF. AWESOMELY META!!!!! I love it.

 

I'm digging this thread back out of its grave since Amazon Prime Day had this figure on "sale" which brought it back down to regular price. Having never owned G1 Reflector, I kind of enjoyed the Thrilling 30 accessory/figure and Spy Shot 6 who you can see in my signature, so I thought I could put off getting Siege Refraktor, It made sense as he would be one of the figures to make it to the Ross-o-palooza last year along with the other Siege deluxes, especially as my local Target and other stores had not insignificant leftovers when Siege ended, but reports in my area for $8 Refraktors were few and far between. After getting one to bolster my WFC Decepticon forces, it was obvious immediately that I had to order two more, and luckily Prime Day wasn't over.

Robot Mode pluses:
+ WFC-standard articulation plus fold-back shoulders, double-hinged elbows, hinge-down wrists, tilt-up neck, and pointing toe-block, all with decent or better range of motion
+ G1 cartoon-inspired looks hit the spot, Siege-level detailing adds an extra level of depth.
+ normal deluxe-sized figure with less bulk and more accessories to balance things out
+ fairly solid and easy to pose
+ very nice deco that swaps Siege battle damage paint for extra red and silver small details
+ WFC-standard 5mm ports all around, as well as a trio of 3mm blast effect pegs on the body
+ substantial accessories in the rifle, shield, and removable iris 7-blade diaphragm accessory; shield even has two different angles of 5mm handles
+ removable iris accessory on 4mm peg to display as Spectro or Spyglass, iris accessory can be pegged into the back which blocks waist articulation, or it can fit in the gap in either landing strut on the back of the boots

Robot Mode minuses:
- gaps in the upper back and lower arms, waffling in upper arms and thighs, not-that-well-covered gap in boots
- a small amount of flash in two of my Refraktors' eye holes
- shield has no blast effect pegs
- reinterprets the G1 cartoon backpack as small shoulder details (this is a very minor complaint)
- weapon storage is a bit clumsy
- mounting slits in 3 of the iris blade lines throws off the look a little

The robot mode +/- ratio says it all, so much good about this figure is substantial, while most of the negatives are small things.


Transformation (single mode) thoughts:
- the larger beats are pretty simple, mostly just rotating limbs around and tabbing into something, not a lot of folding
- using the clear chest piece to lock the leg articulation to the rest of the vehicle is a clumsy affair
- going to robot mode, the gun at the front is a bit difficult to get out
* accessories all have dedicated places to go in alt mode, doing a lot more to convey "spaceship"
+ the various parts that tab about do so solidly
+ the gun mounting ports have alignment tabs

Transformation is simple, there's an attempt to add stuff to do but no denying that it's just a robot laying down and hiding his head; it's obvious this was done to get a passable camera mode brick later.


Vehicle Mode pluses:
+ rakish hood with sleek fins, sort of like a Chrysler Crossfire
+ fairly solid
+ detailing showing is more sleek
+ shield makes a decent engine cowling
+ revealed landing leg adds a lot to the spaceship styling
+ makes a good escort ship for Siege Shockwave's alt mode

Vehicle Mode minuses:
- it's merely a stick with some parts, and without the parts it's just an odd-looking stick
- the cockpit is very obviously hollow from the underside
- the thighs are just... there, nothing covering them or filling in the gaps
- scale is confusing due to the squat, wide cockpit/bridge, is it a little fighter or a giant starship?

The +/- ratio doesn't tell the whole story, as the negatives do weigh heavily. This is another Siege "we just made it a spaceship, whatever" situation, and one where the accessories are doing much of the heavy lifting at that. It's not without a curious, silly charm, but it's obviously lame.


Transformation (combiner mode) thoughts:
+ feels like a real transformation with parts going into other parts and snapping around each other
+ each figure makes a nicely solid brick
+ combining is simple since each block is the same and they snap together on their sides in alternating directions
+ 3x accessories combine in clever ways to make the lens and the tripod, respectively
+ the lens locks into specialized tabs that aren't obvious and stays put well
+ leftover iris accessories can be mounted as a top wheel or a back directional pad
- the robot's right foot is a challenge to get fully in place as the 3mm blast effect peg clashes with a locking tab
- no combiner mode instructions included with individual Refraktor

Getting it into and out of brick mode is simple yet feels like it's actually doing something, and it ends up quite solid. Aside from that right foot clashing issue, it's a nice transformation.


Combiner Mode pluses:
+ combining three Refraktors to make a camera feels "right"
+ looks more fun and real in person than photos suggest
+ lens looks great with real "glass" up front, zoom ring, red style ring, even the non-removable hood has diffusing lines sculpted inside
+ has some heft to it, holds nicely like a mirrorless camera
+ the sole of the right foot has a mode dial design sculpted around the main 5mm port
+ lifting the feet-block in the middle adds an SLR-style hump to better emulate the G1 camera look, it's shallow but it's there
+ iris accessory has knurling to help sell the idea that it's a control wheel

Combiner Mode minuses:
- there's still plenty of non-camera detailing going on
- leaving the iris accessory on the bot chest can seat it behind the lens, which would be neat, but it sits way too high to pass as the aperture
- the transparent plastic lens shows the 5mm pegs inside
- the tripod using the 4mm mount causes little stress marks in the port, I don't think this is going to be a problem down the road but it's not ideal

Here's where the +/- ratio gets into it, it is both a delightful little G1-esque camera and a trio of silly robot blocks clicked together to make a goofy thing. I will say it works a lot better in-hand than photos can convey, and there's a real charm to the finished combiner mode. And that's just the official combined mode, there's so many creative fan modes out there as well that add to the personality of this set.


Overall, the single Refraktor figure is a dangerous thing, it's got great personality and calls back nicely to the lineage, but it's also addictive because having just one simply isn't going to be enough - I know, I tried to go that route for a single day, it failed and here I am with a trio. Having the ability to display Refractor as Viewfinder with his iris or as Spectro/Spyglass by removing it only adds to the fun of this fantastically-articulated, solid figure. Alt mode is undeniably lame, but not without its own charms. Combiner mode definitely adds that cleverness and fun factor that takes this to the next level.