Malleus Minotaurus’s symbol is the symbol of Solus Prime.

I think the "tentacle face" is octopunch, since he's a member of mayhem attack squad

The symbol on top of malice is the symbol of Solus prime if you're wandering. Think that is suppose to be a hint at next years theme as it was leaked to be centered around the 13 primes.

I need someone to 3D print the original Deluxes in black and purple. Great review!

The logo on Chopshop and Barrage is the Mayhem Attack Squad's form the Wreckers Tread and Circuits from the 2019 continuity. been looking forward to this set for a while for my collection of characters with Bandai origins.

Chop Shop, Barrage and Ransack declaring the Insecticon battle call: "Insecticons Infesterize"!!!!!

That's a really good set for insecticons fans, they look great. Except hammerbot. Great review as only you can do.

Got mine yesterday as well, the Deluxe Insection Duo is awesome! This is how you do homage redeco/remolds right, making new and distinct looking versions compared to the original molds. I prefer to give Chop Shop the two bug-leg blasters as pistols because they look closer to his original gun and so he's different from Shrapnel. Barrage's chest being flipped from Bombshell shows more of the shoulder joints from transformation but it at least looks like mechanical details and you only really see it looking up close. Mallus is not painted to make him more like the hammer being the iconic Wrecker symbol. It was an easy way to make that connection to the Wreckers without including a third larger figure. The skull and tentacles logo is Mayhem's (essentially the new Mayhem Attack Squad) from Treads And Circuits, which was the most recent Wrecker/Mayhem comic story. Mayhem are essentially terrorists in this version so I think Mallus is suppose to be the DXInsecticons' hostage.

the tentacle symbols are for Octopunch from what i am told, the founder of Mayhem. =)i got mine Thursday and love them. great review!!

I was surprised as Amazon said mine would arrive Monday but to my surprise it arrived today and I love these 2 Deluxe Insecticons!!!!! With 3 down, I cannot wait until they release Venom to complete this set!!!!!!

All three figures are awesome. They just look so beautiful like their counterpart G1. Thanks for a great review.

My set is arriving on Monday. And it is rumored through a leak that Venom is coming next year but not until like the 4th Wave of that new line.

Awesome review! Mine arrive Tuesday. I am so excited. I think chop shop is the best of the bunch too. He looks great in both modes. I obtained Chop Shop, Venom, and Ransack secondhand as a kid. I still have them!

I cant wait to get this set myself

Back in stock. Mine comes Sunday.

Octopunch, the pretender, from the Mayhem Attack Squad in the 2019 IDW continuity.

Can't wait to see what Toyhax does with this set. BTW Barrage's arms peg into his legs in insect mode. Just got to work it in a little bit to get it lined up with the leg slot.

Some aren't happy these are just Shrapnel retools but with the fact Hasbro really can't make unique molds that look like Bandai's old toys, I think Hasbro did the best they could in that regard. It's just a shame these new bug legs weren't with the original versions of these molds because they are far better. "Malleus Minotaurus’" is an okay name, but "Maulotaur" would have been better.

That head with the tentacles looks like the Vok from Beast Wars.

Been undecided about this set since I saw it. Haven't been able to find Sharpnel and Bombshell here although I did find Kickback my old favourite. Incidentally they are still on pre-order on Amazon here in the UK until the beginning of July still available last I checked anyway. I agree though and if they were available as singles I'd certainly like to get Chop Shop but I doubt I'll get this whole set after all. Cheers for the review.

I looked through the TFWiki insignia gallery and saw nothing that matches that weird skull face and tentacles marking. Might be something we'll learn more about when the line refreshes next year, as it usually does.

i think venom was listed in the leaks for next year. but you never know. we were supposed to get sureshot in wave one this year and they kicked him to next year. or polar claw in kingdom. or Darkmount before that i think (or after).

My most desired figures ( mainly barrage )

Great review as always, Patriot. I got mine through Hasbro so they'll probably take about another week to get here but they were instant orders for me too. I'm really looking forward to them.

Great review man! I couldnt figure out the symbol on Malleus Minotaurus. Admittedly its just to small for my eyes, even zoomed in on my camera. :D These are great repaints, really done well. But I would still love to see these guys get some love in a fully new sculpt one day.

Have this set coming this week. After all we need is Venom to complete the deluxe quartet. Just will they have to rename him due to marvel or just add Insecticon Venom.

I had a Barrage when I was a kid. Chop Shop is a huge improvement over G1, but I think the new Barrage is _worse_ than its original. That one had a pretty sophisticated transformation for its time, completely hid the insect legs and had a _far_ superior bug mode to this guy. Just my opinion!

was the Malleus Minotaur inclusion a play at "smashing bugs'?

Chop Shop is my fav too. Just needs his axe

Awesome review, brother! I've been anxiously awaiting these guys for awhile now, and they do NOT disappoint! Thankfully, I did manage to get the Ransack figure, and with Venom being announced as a release for 2025, we'll finally have the full team of Deluxe Insecticons in modern format! About damn time too!!! I'm still trying to track down G1 Venom, Chopshop, and Ransack for my collection, but thus far, I've only managed to get Barrage at a really good deal... Personally, I like to place Chopshop's twin blasters into the foot pegs in insect mode, facing behind him, like twin stingers or something... gives him a more streamlined looking bug mode and less blocky and tank-like in his bug mode... not that I don't like a nice insect looking tank, lol, but I prefer a bigger looking, less blocky bug for my Insecticon... 😅 Also, if you combine the weird yellow armblade weapons for Ransack, you can plug them in his insect mode and give him a more abdominal look for his grasshopper mode... works with Kickback too, but looks dumber somehow, with Kickback, lol 😅😅😅 (although, thinking about it now, maybe if I gave that translucent purple plastic a black wash, it might actually look decent 🤔... might have to try it and see...) Looking forward to getting Venom now! Can't wait... As for the hammer... I'm basically just going to give him to the Breakdown figure coming in the next 2pk set, and take the handle extension from Siege Soundwave/Soundblaster's gun to extend the handle and make a more proportionate looking warhammer instead of a really LONG hammer with a REALLY SHORT handle, which is just bizarre to me... 🙄

So stoked I'm getting these guys next week instead of August. Now for Hasbro to give us a Venom fig....

Annoyingly I had that first version of the hammer repainted in similar colors. What a waste 😂

Wished they weren't so blocky. The originals were much more rounded and closer to an insect in form. Just not enough of a difference for me. I'm skipping.

Hasbo is getting lazy. As much as they love a recolor why haven’t they recolor Waspinator as Venom yet.