John Ary here with a quick look at a few action figure lines that are making headlines this week... As always click on the photos for an embiggened version and for more info follow the pre-order links...

The Expendables 2 Barney Ross from Hot Toys

Sylvester Stallone will get another deluxe 1/6 scale figure from Hot Toys; this time for the film Expendables 2. This version of the mercenary will feature 30 points of articulation, a hand-painted head sculpt, tattoos on the chest, arms and back, nine interchangeable hands, two movie-accurate cloth costumes, two pistols with pouches, a revolver, an assault rifle, watch, sunglasses, goggles, headset, cigar and figure stand. All that’s missing is a 1/6 scale movie-accurate Jean-Claude Van Damme figure to battle. He will release sometime in the third quarter of this year or you can pre-order him here.

Predator Series 9 from NECA

Thank you John McTiernan. You gave us two of the greatest action films from the 80′s. Die Hard and Predator set a standard that few films since then have matched. Thank you also to NECA for creating more action figures of Dutch and the Predator. These 7-inch scale toys will arrive just in time to celebrate 25 years of sci-fi geeks reciting such classic Predator lines as “I ain’t got time to bleed.” or “You’re one… *ugly* motherf*cker!” and of course “Get to da choppah!” Jungle Disguise Dutch and Jungle Encounter Dutch both feature over 20 points of articulation and movie-specific weapons. Water Emergence Predator features over 25 points of articulation including a ball-jointed hip and double-knee articulation, plus extendable wrist blades and a removable backpack. Look for these to release in June.

Bela Lugosi as Ygor from Distinctive Dummies

History has been kind to the first two Frankenstein movies. For some unknown reason, the third in the series rarely is mentioned in the same conversation. Son of Frankenstein not only featured Boris Karloff as the monster, but Basil Rathbone as the son of the infamous doctor. The real star of the film though is Bela Lugosi, who gave horror fans the first glimpse of the character we now know as Igor. Ygor became the prototype for the hunchbacked mad scientist underlings that we enjoy today. The folks over at Distinctive Dummies have created a new 12-inch action figure based on the flute-playing murderer. He’s available in a black and white version along with a color version on the company’s website in a very limited number.

Revoltech Naked Snake from Kaiyodo

Metal Gear will soon celebrate 25 years of sneaking around in boxes and crazy convoluted plots. Metal Gear Solid TV posted pics of this Revoltech Naked Snake from the game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, complete with swappable hands, a rifle, a pistol with silencer, thought bubbles, figure stand, cardboard box and multiple points of articulation. It will sneak into the states in April or you can pre-order him here.

Strange Tales Minimates from Diamond Select Toys

I'm in the middle of reading Sean Howe's excellent Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. It's a page-turner that chronicles the ups and downs of my favorite comic book company and the folks who brought some of pop-culture's most revered characters to life. According to the book, Marvel would receive letters from Dr. Strange fans who apparently loved to go on acid trips while reading through the funny books that featured the company's most well-known sorcerer. I doubt this upcoming Minimate set will expand your consciousness like the pages of those classic Strange comics, but its still pretty cool. The horrific four-pack features the first appearance version of Blade, Morbius, Werewolf by Night and Dr. Strange. Each figure in this Marvel Minimates Strange Tales box set measures 2-inches tall, includes 14 points of articulation and a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories. Look for these to unleash their mystical powers in March or you can pre-order them here.

And finally this week, I got my hands on one of the new Iron Man 3 Assemblers 3.75-inch figures. I wasn't very impressed with my purchase...

That's it for this week. For more action figure newsm follow my toy blog ArticulationTimes.com on Twitter and Facebook for more news updates and subscribe to the AICN Youtube channel.