SSC Ponda Baba 1/6 Scum and Villainy

wormlander said:

I'm not necessarily making excuses for him, but it must be tricky not getting into barfights looking like that...

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Who knows, maybe Luke's face looks like his genitals.

LoveMinusZero said:

Who knows, maybe Luke's face looks like his genitals.

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And what would he think of Leia's hair?

Asta said:

View attachment 722254

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You gotta love the fact that they simply took some scissors and cut off the other sleeve for the Holiday Special appearance.

What's interesting is that Walrusman is a pretty prominent character in the SWHS cantina scene - more so than Greedo, who overshadows him in ANH as the most memorable creature in the cantina sequence.

https://onesixthkit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=5610

$300 including delivery.

To me it's worth getting the Walrusman SSC exclusive because I really don't like the furry ape hands, or the Evazan/imperial-type blaster that goes with the furry ape hands.

He doesn't have those furry ape hands at all in the movie except in the severed arm close-up shot - a severed arm that isn't included with this fig.

And the flippers just look much cooler for display and I love that curved suction cup look when the flipper grips the special pistol.

Asta said:

https://onesixthkit.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=5610

$300 including delivery.

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Why does the pic for the non-EX Ponda show the second modified (flipper hands) blaster in the holster when it doesn't come with that non-EX release?

The SSC EX comes with both blasters (plus extra flipper hands) whereas the non-EX comes with just the single imperial blaster.

Felinx said:

To me it's worth getting the Walrusman SSC exclusive because I really don't like the furry ape hands, or the Evazan/imperial-type blaster that goes with the furry ape hands.

He doesn't have those furry ape hands at all in the movie except in the severed arm close-up shot - a severed arm that isn't included with this fig.

And the flippers just look much cooler for display and I love that curved suction cup look when he grips the special pistol.

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Ponda's flipper hands were a must.

It's a shame Lucas didn't amend the severed arm shot when he was tinkering, and that Rogue One decided to double down and show him with hairy hands.

Felinx said:

Why does the pic for the non-EX Ponda show the second modified (flipper hands) blaster in the holster when it doesn't come with that non-EX release?

The SSC EX comes with both blasters (plus extra flipper hands) whereas the non-EX comes with just the single imperial blaster.

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Just an oversight on photo selection I guess.

Sideshow have done the same thing.

Asta said:

Ponda's flipper hands were a must.

It's a shame Lucas didn't amend the severed arm shot when he was tinkering, and that Rogue One decided to double down and show him with hairy hands.



Just an oversight on photo selection I guess.

Sideshow have done the same thing.

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The weird suction cup/flipper hands were always cooler, and they originally have the shot with the flipper hand severed, but I can understand the concern over audiences not understanding what they were seeing. Too bad though.

I find it odd that Ponda Baba has 2 right hands. His left arm is cut off but the shot of the severed arm is right handed. Aliens eh?

Imagine that on your shelf. Left arm with a right hand. I'm not sure I'd go that far with screen accuracy. One hand as a flipper as well.

Dave_W said:

I find it odd that Ponda Baba has 2 right hands. His left arm is cut off but the shot of the severed arm is right handed. Aliens eh?

Imagine that on your shelf. Left arm with a right hand. I'm not sure I'd go that far with screen accuracy. One hand as a flipper as well.

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It's even weirder than that: it's clearly Evazan who's pointing that blaster (seen in the severed arm shot) and gets his arm cut off.

Ponda is standing a couple of feet behind Evazan and has his arms at his sides at the point Ben starts slashing in the movie scene.

Movie magic.... the Force.... black goo.... Texas tea...

It's also Evazan screaming in pain, along with Ponda whining/crying more like an animal.

Felinx said:

It's even weirder than that: it's clearly Evazan who's pointing that blaster (seen in the severed arm shot) and gets his arm cut off.

Ponda is standing a couple of feet behind Evazan and has his arms at his sides at the point Ben starts slashing in the movie scene.

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The Force works in mysterious ways?...

Felinx said:

It's even weirder than that: it's clearly Evazan who's pointing that blaster (seen in the severed arm shot) and gets his arm cut off.

Ponda is standing a couple of feet behind Evazan and has his arms at his sides at the point Ben starts slashing in the movie scene.

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It's quick, yet always registered as two strokes:
One stoke cuts Evasan,
Another stroke continues straight through to Walrusface who (implied) has also stepped forward, weapon drawn.

Felinx said:

it's clearly Evazan who's pointing that blaster (seen in the severed arm shot)

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No Ponda severed arm shot is always a different gun from Evasan
Rough cut: Evazan gun

Ponda flipper & has own Gun


77 final cut: Evazan gun

Ponda claw & again his own gun


Edit, just found this
At least one outtake angle (maybe should have left it in, though don't think it was necessary for the quick pacing) again, implies they both drawed/drew?...

Or rough cut, looks like he cuts Ponda (down stroke) first, and/or then slices through both (back swing).

As to why more carnage of both wasn't left shown on the floor:

SW screenplay March 15 said:

"With an astounding agility, old Ben's laser sword sparks to life and in a flash an arm lies on the floor. The rodent is cut in two and the giant, multiple-eyed creature lies doubled, cut from chin to groin. ...The entire fight has lasted only a mater of seconds. "- SW screenplay March 15, 1976

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Alan Dean Foster's SW novelization said:

"In the split second when the gun and its owner’s attention was off him, the old man’s hand had moved to the disk slung at his side. The short human started to yell as a fiery blue-white light appeared in the dimness of the cantina.
He never finished the yell. It turned into a blink. When the blink was finished, the man found himself lying prone against the bar, moaning and whimpering as he stared at the stump of an arm.
In between the start of his yell and the conclusion of the blink, the rodent-thing had been cleft cleanly in half down the middle, its two halves falling in opposite directions. The giant multiocular creature still stood staring, dazed, at the old human who was poised motionless before it, the shining lightsaber held over his head in a peculiar fashion. The creature’s chrome pistol fired once, blowing a hole in the door. Then the torso peeled away as neatly as had the body of the rodent, its two cauterized sections falling in opposite directions to lie motionless on the cool stone.
Only then did the suggestion of a sigh escape from Kenobi; only then did his body appear to relax. Bringing the lightsaber down, he flipped it carefully upward in a reflex saluting motion which ended with the deactivated weapon resting innocuously on his hip" - Alan Dean Foster's SW novelization

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Interesting ^ Foster introduces the "cauterization".
Marvel Comic: (...the two aggressors lie in sections on the floor...)

(RBCC fanzine)


And Walrusface's head!

Mondragon said:

Thanks his whole Cantina Compendium is a fantastic resource;
Love the shots of Walrusface's severed head!

I'm retroactivley inserting that into my official head canon.

Lucas' annoying tinkering gave us; Greedo shot first and McClunky, when he was holding back, and should have given us; Obi-Wan lopped Walrusface's firkin head off!

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I think Lucas knew he had more than enough to convey what he needed, and righfully had them move on.
Worked well enough for Kurosawa




LOL firkin visual nerd-theses on Walrusface, who I always thought looked more like a fly [or Spider] anyway.

"Walrusface" ironically looks more like an elephant seal, the eyes for sure and even the inflated/inflatable throat sacs.

Mondragon said:

Edit, just found this
At least one outtake angle (maybe should have left it in, though don't think it was necessary for the quick pacing) again, implies they both drawed/drew?...

Or rough cut, looks like he cuts Ponda (down stroke) first, and/or then slices through both (back swing).

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This is definitely how I always read it. Obi-Wan's down stroke quickly takes one of their hands and then he slashes across both of them, which is why you hear them both screaming in agony.

Mondragon said:

I think Lucas knew he had more than enough to convey what he needed, and righfully had them move on.
Worked well enough for Kurosawa

LOL firkin visual nerd-theses on Walrusface, who I always thought looked more like a fly anyway.

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Lucas had to work under the constraints of time and funds, and Star Wars is proof of what can be accomplished when creativity is faced with practical pressures like that.

Even if Lucas has gone for a more violent scene if he were able, which I don't think he would have, he would have re-edited many times over the years like he's already done. For some reason he felt Star Wars as it was, had too much violence in it, so he did things like snip down shots of the imperials getting shot as well as making Greedo shoot first.

The most inoffensive non-edgey directors like Lucas and Spielberg feeling they needed to edit out tiny bits of violence or guns in their films is laughable. Not a single person on earth ever felt Han Solo was a terrible role model for kids because he shot Greedo, who was obviously going to shoot him eventually anyway.

Mondragon said:

It's quick, yet always registered as two strokes:
One stoke cuts Evasan,
Another stroke continues straight through to Walrusface who (implied) has also stepped forward, weapon drawn.


No Ponda severed arm shot is always a different gun from Evasan
Rough cut: Evazan gun

Ponda flipper & has own Gun

77 final cut: Evazan gun

Ponda claw & again his own gun

Edit, just found this
At least one outtake angle (maybe should have left it in, though don't think it was necessary for the quick pacing) again, implies they both drawed/drew?...

Or rough cut, looks like he cuts Ponda (down stroke) first, and/or then slices through both (back swing).

Click to expand...

Yeah I like it (and this conversation!,) but in the same instant Ben draws and begins his slash, Ponda is clearly seen standing behind Evazan with arms at sides. I get there's different angles/takes and two slashes, but from what's seen onscreen Evazan gets slashed and falls back past Ponda, and Ponda is never seen with arm raised. It seems his relaxed/by-his-side arm gets severed after the saber cut through his torso.

You can see in this shot Ben has saber raised as Evazan draws - as Ponda simply watches from behind, arms at his sides, blaster clearly visible untouched in his holster - even as Evazan is drawing and a millisecond before Ben starts to slash.



It really looks like Evazan's arm/blaster gets severed first then both him and Ponda get slashed across their upper chests - making the unused shots of a severed Ponda head a more likely outcome than Ponda's severed arm as seen onscreen.

And the gun in the severed arm shot is just Evazan's blaster with the long twin scopes broken off (inferred the saber slashes the blaster or scopes break off in the fall) - you can even see where the scopes broke off in that severed arm shot, leaving some visibly torn-off wires and a broken tab mount on the body of the gun. Walrusman's pistol is the quite different Dengar, Hoth rebel and ROTJ Imperial trooper blaster but with a tube for a handle, clearly visible in his holster (or um... Ponda was pretty "excited" right before his demise. )

And though he's seen with the publicity photo with his blaster drawn (love that pic!) Ponda just is never seen in the movie with weapon in-hand, let alone with it pointed at anyone. His only sin was shoving Luke because he'd had one too many, but it's solely his hothead bud Evazan who escalates things, draws the weapon and gets both of them killed.

Walrusman was innocent! Ponda's wife's wrongful death lawsuit lawyer rests his case.

What's that little red thing on Ponda Baba?