Commander Gree - TVC - Basic (VC43)

Variation hunters out there! Heed what we are about to tell you! The Vintage Collection Commander Gree is a repaint of the 2008 TAC Commander Gree (08 03) figure! Yes, Hasbro has tweaked the paint job to give us a figure that is more screen-accurate and they have done a fine job in doing so. Commander Gree was a groundbreaking figure in 2008 if you recall. He was the first clone commander with ball-jointed hips. Although the added articulation didn’t give him that much more movement, it was significantly more that made a big difference to collectors. Gree also had the distinction of coming with ball-jointed wrists. Hasbro doesn’t use ball-jointed wrists as often as we’d like, but we have to say that they were instrumental in allowing Gree to hold his macrobinoculars in a realistic fashion. A solid figure no matter how you look at him, some collectors believe that his helmet still hasn’t been executed exactly to the character in the film. Clearly not as bad as the 2005 ROTS Commander Gree (III 59), the striping on the helmet may not be exactly identical and we have to admit that this is partially true. The figure still looks great as is to us at least. We don’t claim that another enhancement wouldn’t be wonderful. It would, but we just want to point out that Commandeer Gree isn’t terrible without it.

So what makes the 2011 iteration of Commander Gree different from the 2008 figure? We’ll go through all the changes. In the comparison shot in our photo gallery, the 2008 figure is on the left and the 2011 figure is on the right. Starting from the top front of the figure, the visor is a lighter mint green instead of the more lime green that was used on the 2008 figure. Interestingly, the diametric opposite was true for the running change of the 2005 figure. Hasbro has changed somewhat the pattern of dripping dirt on the sides of the helmet. On our sample, the brown dirt was much more noticeable. This detail could vary from one figure to the next. The straps coming down the chest of the armor are thicker and much more even. In the center of his chest is a pattern that has now been done is a brighter green and the area surrounding this pattern has been significantly darkened with a very dark gray (almost black) wash whereas the original figure had a light green or brown wash. Commander Gree’s armor is also filled with lots of camouflage. While it’s hard to point out differences in a random pattern like this, we can say that the approach in which Hasbro applied the camouflage pattern in unique on each figure. (This is especially evident in the knee armor and codpiece.)

Moving to the top back of the figure, the back of Gree’s helmet for the first time has been painted a very light gray which most eyes would miss if not pointed out. This makes the helmet almost perfect in our eyes and it brings a new depth that we haven’t seen to date. We are so happy Hasbro caught this detail. The center of him which has been painted in that dark gray color has also been done on his back. And his antenna box looks to have picked up a new style of the camouflage pattern as well. The rest of the figure is pretty much identical to the 2008 TAC Commander Gree (08 03) figure. But we think it’s pretty cool that Hasbro took the time to update and correct some of the issues the previous version had. While there are still a few more enhancements Commander Gree could sustain, we think that if they never attempted him again that this would be a definitive enough version for our collections. A perfect candidate for The Vintage Collection, Commander Gree is an exceptional action figure which deserves this immortalization in the fan favorite line. We wonder if Hasbro has any other plans to release more of the 41st Elite Corp clones into the line. We hope so because they are such a popular group. So, Commander Gree is definitely different that the previous releases. And you should probably pick him up!