FX-series medical assistant droid/Legends

"We need more Effex droids. I've put in this requisition three times. Every day you delay, clone troopers die."

- Jos Vondar

The FX-series medical assistant droid, also referred to as Fixits, was a medical droid series line produced by Medtech Industries. Only ten models (FXs-1 through 10) were made. They were often immobile, cylindrical droids with numerous "arms" that assisted patients during surgery or other medical procedures. They could help by cutting away dead flesh, holding items, or even injecting bacta fluid (which was why they were occasionally constructed at command stations during times of war to save injured soldiers).

During the Clone Wars, Galactic Republic forces often deployed FX-series droids by aerial insertion into forward positions and Republic Mobile Surgical Units, acting as mobile aid stations for critically wounded clone troopers.

When Anakin Skywalker was grievously injured by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, Palpatine brought him to a medical facility on Coruscant. It was here that an FX model droid worked on Anakin's body to bring him out of his critical situation. The droid later facilitated Anakin's transition to his half-robot body. When the now suited up Darth Vader received news from Palpatine that he had killed Padmé, his fit of rage and grief caused Vader to destroy everything in the room with the force, including the medical droids. The round "head" of the FX model that worked on Vader was crushed, as well most of its body. External containers holding presumably bacta shattered, spilling their contents.

During the Galactic Civil War, FX models were in use by both the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic.



Behind the scenes
The second edition of Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back incorrectly states that the FX series comprised only nine models.

The 2-1C medical droid probably belonged to the FX series, as it shares the same basic appearance of most FX-series droids, even though it doesn't share the FX designator.

Toy versions of FX droids
The FX's first appearance in the vintage 3 3/4-inch Kenner line came in 1980. Released on the new Empire cards, FX-7 is a unique figure in the original line, consisting of a gray tubular body and a head that can be spun 360 degrees and extended upwards by an inch. Underneath the head is a rigid white arm terminating in a claw appendage. This arm is mounted on a spinning ring, allowing it to be spun 360 degrees around the body. The main part of the body has nine white arms that can be opened out away from the body. Although these limbs have no joints, they can be slightly articulated at the elbow and shoulder. There is a major variation with the FX-7 figure in that two different head molds exist. One head is smaller with differently situated detail from the other. Another shorter FX-7 can be found on card; this figure is simply missing its glued-on base that sometimes broke off during production. This shorter FX-7 is not classed as a true variation but merely a production mistake. FX-7 ran for five years through the Empire, Jedi and Tri-logo line.

The next FX-7 figure to be released came in the Power Of The Jedi line in 2000-2002. This new figure offers a far more realistic look and greater attention to detail that the vintage toy. The addition of twice the number of articulated limbs of the vintage figure, jointed at the elbow and shoulder, add much more detail and capture a close likeness of the original production prop.