Q7-series astromech droid/Legends

The Q7-series astromech droid was an experimental astromech droid, designed specifically for use in the Galactic Republic's V-wing starfighter during the Clone Wars.

Characteristics


Unlike the R-series, they were spherical. The upper hemisphere contained the regular dome, while the lower hemisphere housed a repulsorlift engines which allowed the Q7 to get itself in and out of a V-wing fighter, as well as taking up less space while jacked into the fighter itself.

Industrial Automaton designed several prototypes, labeled Q1 through Q6, before finally producing the Q7. They based the upper dome on the R2-series, both to save money on production and due to the success of the largely popular R2-series. This was where the similarity ended though as the lower part of the droid was another dome making the droid under 1 meter in diameter.

Problems arose with the Q7s though due to frequency in which their repulsorlifts broke down, more often than the treads of their larger cousins of the R-series line. It was also more expensive to repair a repulsorlift engine than the simple treads. The Q7 also lacked any kind of back-up option for locomotion, rendering them useless if their repulsorlifts did fail.

History
As the Galactic Republic was transformed into the Galactic Empire, and the V-wing was replaced by the TIE series starfighter in the Imperial military, Q7 astromechs were phased out and production ceased on the line. In the decades before the Battle of Yavin many Q7s found their way into the hands of smugglers and merchants in the Outer Rim Territories. Due to the higher cost of repairing the repulsorlifts, many owners abandoned their droids for easier-to-maintain models. Other Q7s were converted to R2 or R4 models and still others had their programming and personality transferred into completely different droid models.

Behind the scenes
A Q7-series droid was accidentally called an R4 series droid in the LEGO 6205 V-wing Fighter.

The image for the Q7 in The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide contradicts the description of the droid as being a hovering, spherical droid. It appears to depict an R7 series astromech with its distinctive triangular sensor.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Dark Times 2: The Path to Nowhere, Part 2
 * Star Wars Battlefront II