LEGO Waiter (71000)

About This Set

The Waiter (71000) opened Minifigures Series 9 in January 2013, dressed for service in a fine restaurant. His black tuxedo is printed on the torso with a vest and bow tie, his hands are white as if gloved, and a swirly moustache is printed under a swept hair piece. What made the figure, though, were his two accessories - both of them new pieces. The serving tray is a wide grey oval, flat on top with a small rim, that clips onto his hand; the bottle is cast in translucent green and printed with a label showing a bunch of grapes.

The tray's smooth top has no stud, so the bottle rests on it rather than clipping in - a quirk every owner discovers when posing the figure, and one LEGO's own character text played on: the Waiter serves that same single bottle with every turkey leg, sausage link and pizza pie his customers order. His polish made him popular, but Series 9 packed only two Waiters into each display case of sixty, among the lowest counts in the wave, and he became one of the hardest figures in the series to track down.

Series 9 was a professions-and-pastimes wave - knights, emperors, judges and starlets - and the Waiter filled its hospitality slot with unusual care for a $2.99 blind bag: two brand-new accessory moulds in a single pack. The tray and the printed bottle have been serving LEGO restaurants, cafes and modular-building dining rooms in builders' scenes ever since.

Key Features

• Black tuxedo torso printed with a vest and bow tie, with white hands suggesting evening gloves
• Swirly moustache face print and a swept hair piece
• Grey oval serving tray - a new piece, flat-topped with a rim, that clips onto the hand
• Translucent-green bottle - a new piece, printed with a grapes label
• Only two Waiters per display case, among the scarcest figures in Series 9
• First figure on the Series 9 checklist
• One of 16 figures in Minifigures Series 9, released January 2013
• Black 3x4 display baseplate and collector's leaflet included

Theme Background

Minifigures Series 9, released in January 2013, leaned into professions, history and performance: the Waiter was joined by the Heroic Knight, Roman Emperor, Policeman, Judge, Hollywood Starlet and Cyclops, among others. The wave kept the sixteen-figure format and the $2.99 price of the earlier series, but it varied the distribution inside each display case more sharply - popular figures such as the Waiter were packed at only two per case, which shaped the hunt for collectors completing the set.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which series does LEGO 71000 Waiter belong to?

The Waiter is the first figure in Minifigures Series 9, released in January 2013. The sixteen-figure wave also includes the Heroic Knight, Roman Emperor, Hollywood Starlet and Cyclops.

What accessories come with the Waiter?

Two accessories, both new pieces for this figure: a wide grey oval serving tray that clips onto his hand, and a bottle cast in translucent green and printed with a grapes label.

Does the bottle attach to the tray?

No. The top of the tray is smooth, with a small rim and no stud, so the bottle rests on it loosely. The figure is usually posed holding the bottle by its neck in the other hand.

Was the Waiter hard to find?

Yes. Series 9 display cases held only two Waiters per case of sixty packs, among the lowest counts in the wave, which made him one of the hardest figures in the series to track down.

How many pieces are in LEGO 71000?

Seven pieces, counting the serving tray, the printed bottle and the black display baseplate.