Clone Trooper (41st Elite Corps) - TCW [B] - Basic (No. 26)

The clone troopers in the 41st Elite Corps are led by Clone Commander Gree and Jedi General Yoda. The troopers are equipped with specialized gear for combat on jungle worlds such as Rodia, one of the planets to which this unit is assigned during the Clone Wars.

The 41st Elite Corps Clone Trooper is honestly nothing too special. It's a figure that boldly claims "I am what I am and nothing more." And while it is fun to buy these up to create your battalion of troopers, this one just isn't as exciting as some of the other clone troopers we have received in the past. This is, perhaps, because he looks like a clone flavor style that we have seen hundreds of times since 2002. We just got an "orange" version of this mold in the previous The Clone Wars wave as the Clone Trooper (212th Attack Battalion) (No. 19) figure. So Hasbro is obviously making quick and good use of this figure to make the biggest dollar the fastest. Although the 212th and 41st clone troopers are two figures from identical molds, they both differ from the plain white Clone Trooper that was released first. Instead of simply repainting the solid white (or dirty) Clone Trooper, this 41st flavor utilizes that first figure's body but now includes a new and unique helmet. At first glance, the 41st Clone Trooper looks nearly identical to a Clone Trooper Sergeant save for a different shade of green. Also, the line that shoots out from the fin straight down the face is broken by white space (as seen on the erred 2006 TSC Clone Trooper (Sergeant) (SAGA 060) figure). The figure isn't anything to rave over, but it isn't terrible either. You won't find much else new about him. As one of Gree's finest, he likely will be popular with collectors, but he may have the propensity to become a peg warmer after all. (Editor’s Note: This figure looks amazing next to the now available TCW [R] Commander Gree (CW09) action figure.) Since The Clone Wars has been focusing on the earliest events from the onset of the war, we are getting clone troopers in the phase I armor, and correctly so. (These are also more commonly known as Attack Of The Clones style clone troopers.)

To be frank, it is very nice to see what the army of Commander Gree looked like before their appearance in Revenge Of The Sith. Yes it is a simple clone trooper design with simple color flashes that aren't too spectacular, but the 41st Elite Corps still ranks high in our books as some of the coolest military members of the Star Wars universe. We are also huge Gree fans, so our opinions may be jaded when we see any clone "green-colored". The Clone Trooper (41st Elite Corps) figure comes with his standard DC-15 blaster and a large heavy blaster rifle which shoots a projectile that was designed to make the kiddies happy. Collectors lose interest quickly in action features, but when they're applied to the weapons they're much more tolerable. So we count our blessings that Hasbro left the figure alone and just added the play options to the accessories instead. We will just deal with the ridiculously large weapons. Hasbro has confirmed that they have eliminated the "dirty" applications on clone trooper figures going forward for cost reasons, but it is our opinion that the figures are starting to suffer. And this clone trooper is a prime example. Since he is mostly white, he looks much too clean to be fighting in battles. We personally would like an occasional dirty wash on the clone troopers instead of large blaster cannons or what have you as this would create diversity in the characters based from the very "clone-centric" television series. Not every figure needs dirt and battle damage, but not every figure should be clean either. The pristine and clean look gives the impression that the clone troopers have just barely stuck their pinky toes in the pool of war, rather than have fought many a battle (which they indeed have). We hope Hasbro can find a way to add this beautiful finishing touch to the clone troopers again.

There are destined to be many more clone trooper flavors coming down the collector pike, so we recommend bracing your self for one after the other when this line gets kicking into full force. The upcoming variety should be spectacular. The Clone Wars television show is just getting started and we suspect that the clone trooper costumes will be getting more and more creative as time allows. And let us not forget that up to this point we haven't seen any of the phase II looks of the clones yet either. it is certainly fertile ground for this franchise. We fully expect to see additional simple designs like this figure too, but we look forward to the, more expressive patterns and color uses. Once again, we hope that Hasbro will consider sacrificing something else in an effort to bring back the dirty washes or unique battle-damage marks that are inherent to any clone trooper in the Star Wars universe. We feel the clone troopers are becoming very bland too quickly. And the dirtiness adds a level of authenticity that other colors cannot bring. Clone Trooper (41st Elite Corps) is a simplistic action figure, but he will do much for your displays and dioramas in your collection. The 41st Elite Corps is already a favorite brand of clone trooper with fans. And they're a hit in The Clone Wars. There is something special about their green color and while we are unable to say exactly what it is, we do know it makes an all-white clone look ultra cool. This wave of figures has been making very healthy appearances hanging from toy shelves all over, and although this figure is one of the hottest and the first to go, you should be able to find plenty if you look hard enough. He is also due to ship when the line changes to the red themed look. Be on the lookout and add as many of Gree's troopers as you can! Gree needs them all!