Custom Gree figure inspired by the
movie character
Let me introduce you a clone commander, who's designation was 1004. I bet only a few of us knew, who was this clone. However if I say let me introduce you clone commander Gree, I think almost every Star Wars fans would say - hey I know him already. So this time I won't give you biography, or long story of his life, we all know what he had done, and what was he famous for. I will focus on his custom figure, and will show you an older, and a newer original figure, to be able to compare. But for the neutral readers, and for the new-comers here is Gree in brief:
In the linear timeline we could first see
Commander Gree in the Clone Wars animated series, he was Luminara Unduli's aide-de camp. In the 9th episode of the Clone Wars animated we saw Gree escorting Nute
Gunray
alongside with Ahsoka Tano and Luminara Unduli. The Neimodian Viceroy
was planned to be sent in jail because of his war crimes, but Asajj Ventress, and a traitor
Coruscant guard saved Gunray from
the well deserved punishment. Though the blue Coruscant soldier was a traitor, and had not any moral strength to
preach at
Commander Gree, the makers of the 3D animated film hid such sentences in this episode,
which could help to understand the clone
mentality, and predestinated Gree's future. I would call these as Gree's ars
poetica, but this time that means not a poetical thinking, but the clone soul, and the clone thinking.
In the first recording we can hear Ahsoka
as she wanted to leave her post to aid Luminara against Asajj, and she
asked the soldiers whether she could leave her post, or disobey a direct order.
Commander Gree's answer: I wouldn't do that...
Which means if he receive an order, he will execute it without hesitating...
I can't
disobbey a direct order and leave my post, can't I? I wouldn't!
This one was recorded while Gree was fighting the Coruscant
guard. Gree declares that a good soldier won't do what is right, but what was ordered...
For that
you betreayed the Republic? Like I told the Padawan, sometimes being a
good solider means doing what you think is right. You and I disagree on what
makes a good sold...
Commander Gree was sent to Kashyyyk during the Clone Wars to aid the wookies. He led a squad of "Sarlacc
Battalion" Elite Corps on Kashyyyk and made preparations to defend the wookie land. He served right under Jedi General Yoda. Gree was commanding troops who had been specially equipped for combat in the jungle environment. The
Elite Corps, and also Gree himself wore camouflaged armor to better blend into the verdant surroundings. 
However Gree was stationed on top of a wooden wookie building, and looked down on the erupting battle, he controlled the fight with his binocular, and directed his troops via his comm-talk. He was
crouching next to Yoda in a scene of the film Revenge of the Sith. Yoda was almost shot down by a stray projectile, so he drew back a bit. Finally they won the Battle of Kashyyyk against the droid army of the CIS. You can test yourself as a commander doing the same job as Gree had done, try to
repel the droid army on Kashyyyk in the game
Battlefront II. A great amusement, entertaining, and very exciting to hold the wookie fortress in the single player
campaign, trying to prevent the droids destroy the wooden walls of the wookie city, and to protect their generator in the fortress. You can be Commander Gree for 5 minutes, save your wookie allies, and for me that was an extra joy that I
did not have to try to kill Yoda, as he attempted in the film.
Though he was a faithful commander who carried out Yoda's orders, Gree was ultimately loyal to the Republic. (It was implanted in all clones when they were floating in their cloning vat as a first priority.) When Chancellor Palpatine enacted the sad Order 66, Gree understood it was a worst-case scenario contingency and the Jedi had "betrayed the Republic". As Palpatine would say "every single Jedi is now an enemy of the Republic". Palpatine told Gree to kill Yoda.
Gree signed an elite corps to go with him, and together they tried to kill the old Jedi Master. They approached him from the behind.
Gree attempted to open fire on Yoda, taking out the Jedi Master before he had time to react. But Commander Gree poorly underestimated Yoda's perception. Before he could squeeze the trigger on his rifle, Yoda flipped up and backwards out of the field of fire, and decapitated the commander with one quick swipe of his small green lightsaber. Chewbacca and Tarfful, who where in that room, were deeply
surprised, as they have not noticed anything, they just heard a shot, and a power-up sound of a lightsaber. Till they turned to Yoda, the two assassins collapsed, while the two heads were rolling on the floor. They understood the
situation, the clones tried to kill their Jedi General. They quickly decided to help Yoda to get away, one of them let Yoda to climb in his neck, to be able to run faster, and ran to their secret escape pod, offering it for Yoda, to use it to escape to Dagobah. In the cut scene of ROTS you can see the heart-breaking arrival of Yoda to Dagobah.
Released Gree figures: click this
Commander Gree reference photo,
however that is not perfect, as the top of his helmet was not silver, but this
is a cool photo.
Revenge of the Sith (ROTS) figure
This one is not a big deal. I mean this is a good figure, but a bad Gree. Pretty well can be articulated, and in some countries this one is a rare figure in its ROTS card in good shape mint conditioned, therefore this figure is pretty valuable. However for me, and for many other fans that is only an early concept of a real good Commander Gree. He is not enough well camouflaged. Also, his helmet is green on its top area, while the original Gree helmet is rather white with a small green stripe on the top middle area. His visor should be more metallic green, shinier.
30th Anniversary figure
This one is a newer figure. Released in 2008, pretty good, much-much better then the old one. More camouflage on his armor, cool helmet with a green stripe on its top, great work. But the visor is still not perfect. He comes with a binocular, that he used in the Battle of Kashyyyk. However this newer series of 30th Anniversary cards does not contain a coin, you will get a nice stand for the figure, written Commander Gree on it. This figure is almost perfect, much better then the older one.
Here is the newest Commander Gree figure. New packaging, new style, and inside a brand new Gree with an unique haircut, as was seen in the first season of the Clone Wars. To tell the truth, I don't like neither his new hair, nor this gigantic weapon. Too big, to clumsy, however the young fans will may find it useful, when playing with it, shooting down the destroyer droids with this large weapon. But the figure itself is really authentic, even the face is just like the real one, so the figure and the other realistic gun will satisfy even the elder fans. I am sure that many of them will buy this new clone figure.
Please take a look at my custom Clone commander Gree!
There was not any Gree in that time, when I made this. Made
from a ROTS#6 clone, well painted and camouflaged. I haven't seen him from
that view, which could tell me he had something on his thigh. I painted the
green stripes on his helmet a lighter green color, then his shoulder armor,
and the chest armor, mine looks like the 30th. Anniv. figure.
custom Gree commander figure front view
custom Gree commander figure from the back
Thanks for your interest, visit back soon!
written by: Norbert Rostas
2008.06.27. the figure was made many years before.
