STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic: Rohlan Dyre

Presenting the Mandalorian Rohlan Dyre from Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. George Lucas has long been known for the genius of filling his movies, cartoons, books and comic books with a multitude of obscure characters and extras so that he can market with merchandising that people like me will pick off the market. There are people out there who create armies of rebel soldiers or Imperial Stormtroopers. Others collect obscure characters who appeared in the movies for just a fraction of a second to complete the Cantina various Star Wars Cantina or Jabba's Palace scenes.


I just collect.

Chances are most of these obscure characters are poorly made or remakes of previous figures. But every now and then you find a really, really cool obscure character and Rohlan Dyre is one such gem.



Rohlan Dyre is a Mandalorian Crusader - the group of Mandalorians who ended up fighting for ex-Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma and who valued combat as the source of one's honor - who ended up in a series of adventures with the renegade Jedi Padawan Zayne Carrick and his associates who included the recently reviewed Jarael.

At one time Rohlan even stood trial on Coruscant because he was locked in the armor of someone who had taken his place on Zayne Carrick's team. Eventually he was rescued by Zayne who figured out that they were no longer with Rohlan and the correct villain was made to stand trial.

We should note that Rohlan's past as Mandalorian Crusader is a bit shady and there are many supposed notes of his desertion from the field of battle earning him the monicker "Rohlan the Questioner."

Rohlan Dyre accompanies Jarael in a comic-book 2-pack. Their blister card reads: Their blister card reads: "Mandalorian warrior Rohlan Dyre and Arkanian protector Jarael are caught up in the Mandalorian Wars that ravage the galaxy in the days of the Old Republic. The lives of these two very different people - the fierce Jarael and "Rohlan the Questioner" - intersect when they meet the Force-sensitive Zayne Carrick."



What's to like about Rohlan Dyre?

The detailing! He's bashed, dented, slashed and scarred - strangely the only thing he isn't is burned. Looking at Rohlan Dyre you can draw one of two conclusions: He's either the dumbest rookie alive, or one of the most bad-ass Mandalorians who has seen more combat than you will ever see flowers.

Rohlan Dyre comes with a removable helmet to reveal an aged African-American with facial tattoos adorning a head filled with the creases of experienced age. The helmet sculpt is good enough that it doesn't appear too big in relation with the body without having to shrink Rohlan's head. The helmet is more reminiscent of Mandalore than it is of Boba Fett's or Jango Fett's.

You've also got to love those shoulder spikes.

He comes equipped with the aforementioned removable helmet - which has an oxygen line running to his removable jetpack - hinting that this Mandalorian can probably survive in a vacuum  for a short period of time.

And he's armed with a scoped shortened carbine (Or a long blaster pistol) and a wicked looking knife that fits nicely into a leg sheath. 

Another big plus for Rohlan Dyre is the arm articulation that doesn't only allow him to lift his arms straight up. Rohlan can raise his arms sideways as well allowing for better poses.

What's NOT to like about Rohlan Dyre?

Other than the inability to move his legs sideways - as with the majority of Star Wars Characters he can only move his legs up and down - the only thing wrong with Rohlan Dyre is that he'd a minor character. An extra in the greater scheme of things who's lucky that he has an entry in Wookipedia.com and won't even be much of a conversation piece.

Other than that? I can't see anything wrong. So if you're looking for a conversation piece for your collection, look somewhere else. If you're looking for a fine example of a Mandalorian warrior, then this is the figure for you.