WUHER New and Significantly Improved
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch HasLab Cantina Pack-In
Item No.: No. G1302
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #HAS008
Includes: Blaster, 1 alternate hand, 1 tumbler
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $399.99-$499.99
Availability: September 2025
Appearances: Star Wars
Bio: Wuher, the Cantina's gruff bartender, keeps his hand low to survive. Whether it's droids entering the premises or stormtroopers investigating a brawl, he does his best to avoid trouble altogether. (Taken from packaging.)
Image: Adam's photo lab.
Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!
Commentary: I both understand and am whiny about the inclusion of
Wuher the bartender with Hasbro's $400-$500 bar. On one hand - if you're buying this playset, you probably want this character. On the other, you probably have one of his two previous releases. A $400-$500 playset like this aims squarely at lifers who want a place to put all their figures, and 2025 Wuher is a masterful improvement over 2000 CommTech-era Wuher. Also, it drives home just how great 2000 Wuher was at the time and still serves as an excellent figure to stand behind your bar, assuming you want to keep this one carded.
This isn't to say the new one isn't fantastic. If you compare the previous release, the proportions are similar and the general landmarks are all there - but the new one has so much more going for him. The shirt has way more sculpted detail. You can have his belly cover his belt now. He can point, the glass is removable, he even has ankle tilts and thigh swivels! The separately-molded plastic wig looks great, and the scruff is painted particularly nicely. He's even got painted chest scruff... which is a little off-center on mine. He's grouchier, squintier, and feels more alive than the previous release. It's also worth noting the pants and boots are significantly different now. 2000 had boots with wraps around them, while 2025 just covers the boots with his pants. Which is better? Who cares? His job is to stand behind the bar and you'll never see them. Hasbro gave this guy an exceptional amount of love when ensuring the parts move well and allow you to put him in other vehicles and playsets... which is kind of amazing given many fans will never, ever even open the carded figure.
But this goes back to the philosophical implications of when, if ever, are you happy with a figure? If you've been happy with one of the old versions, do you need an upgrade? I didn't love the
OTC remastering, but I like the CommTech version just fine. The figure performed all necessary functions as a guy who only needed to stand behind a bar. The new head looks better, but as we get older and as we're likely to not touch the figure much after purchase (be it putting it in a display or putting the carded figure in storage) it's overkill. Hasbro's work at this size is second to none for the prices, even with the increases Hasbro's all-new sculpt figures continue to impress. It's just that for the goobers who are just a rubber mask, or just someone to occupy a seat, sometimes a simple figure is enough to get the job done. I don't know if we would've gotten another cool alien instead of Wuher had Hasbro decided the cheap POTF2-era guy to be good enough, but clearly, I think about it. I would not have felt slighted if we didn't get this update, even though he has an incredible range of motion and hugely improved detail.
Much like the Tonnikas, he has an optional hand with a glass - which is welcome. That's what his original figure had. The rifle is an imaginative bonus but is also a bit of overkill given it's probably not a part of most displays. The extra painted detail on the blaster helps, but like the blaster itself, it might not be missed were it absent.
Overall this is an exceptionally good figure of a figure where my only real complaint is that I was satisfied with previous releases. The amount of texture on the fabric, the nicely engineered articulation, and especially that scowl all serve to give this guy far more personality and a greater range of movement than countless other characters. I don't know who sculpted him, I don't know who gave him the deco budget, but man it's an impressive hunk of plastic. If you never got a Wuher, go get this one. But if you just need a decent guy to stand behind the bar while Luke and your other aliens take focus in a diorama, your old versions will get the job done. But if you want it to look the very best? Get this one... I still find the old one to be good enough for my needs, though.
Confidential to Hasbro: you could've gone without any articulation below the hips and we'd never have missed it, if that ever could be a consideration in reducing prices down the road for other new characters who only stand around.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse. I hope it shows up in the regular line, for now it's exclusive to a crowdfund that is no longer available outside the likes of eBay.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,303: December 18, 2025
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