A new set of Pokemon cards. And Geoffrey the Giraffe, the Toys R Us mascot.All these things are featured prominently in at your local Toys R Us store.So if you need a warm place to take the kids on a wintry weekend, here’s an option for several upcoming Saturdays.Here’s our rundown of the freebies offered at all of the toy giant’s retail stores.Pokemon event: Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4. This Pokemon trade-and-collect event is open to kids ages 6 and up, as well as adult collectors. (You know who you are, guys.)Participants will receive an exclusive free “Cosmog foil card” and a Pokemon TCG Sun & Moon collector’s album. This event is timed to celebrate the release date of a for the Pokemon Trading Card Game.Kids can also enjoy a free Pokemon coloring activity.It’s limited to one giveaway per customer. (Translation: NO HOARDING OF THE FREE CARDS, people.)Lego Batman event: 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. hits theaters Friday, Feb. 10. The next day, kids ages 6 and up can score a free Lego Bat-Car at this Toys R Us event.
This is a “building event,” meaning your offspring will build this Lego kit right there in the store before they take it home.The free Lego kit in question is “Emmet’s Bat-Car,” a small version of the Batmobile. It’s not clear what the retail price for this Lego kit will be when it’s on sale in stores. A similar Lego kit — Emmet’s car from the first Lego Movie — is selling for $21.45 plus $4.49 shipping on , and for $21.99 plus $7.95 shipping at .Also at this Feb. 11 in-store event, kiddos can participate in an Arkham Asylum Breakout Hunt. That might involve playing with from the Lego Batman Movie line of toys.Geoffrey’s Birthday Club events: These are in-store events held from 3 to 4 p.m. the first Saturday of each month. The next three are Feb. 4, March 4 and April 1.Geoffrey the is the Toys R Us mascot and “spokesanimal.” (A note of trivia: He was originally called Dr. G. Raffe. Marketers changed his name, because marketers.)If you sign your child up for Geoffrey’s Birthday Club , your child will receive a birthday card and coupon in the mail shortly before their next birthday, along with an invitation to the next Birthday Club event at the nearest Toys R Us location.
If you present this coupon at the event, your kiddo gets a free Geoffrey plush toy and storybook.Pro tip: Because supplies are limited and Toys R Us hands out these giveaways on a first-come, first-served basis, it’s best to show up early. You definitely don’t want to breeze in late and risk disappointing little Junior if the goodies run out.A final note: As always, bring your willpower and parenting skills to these events — because you’ll be plopping your kid down in the middle of a giant toy store.Your Turn: Have you ever attended a children’s event at Toys R Us?The double-decker couch – Emmet’s invention in The LEGO Movie – was not particularly popular with Vitruvius and Wyldstyle. In fact, they said it was the worst idea ever. However the couch became quite handy later in the movie, and it even saved our heroes lives. While the minifig characters weren’t that impressed with this unusual contraption, the double-decker couch was an instant hit with moviegoers. I have seen many examples of people attempting to build a real-life double-decker couch for themselves and their buddies, so they can all watch TV together.
Of course the issue is that humans have long dangling legs and smelly feet – something minifigs don’t have to worry about. Emmet’s double-decker couch initially only appeared in the #70810 The LEGO Movie MetalBeard’s Sea Cow set. This is the largest set in the series with a steep price of $250. This disappointed LEGO fans who wanted to have their own double-decker couch, so this year LEGO re-released the same double-decker couch in the #70818 The LEGO Movie Double-Decker Couch set – a small and inexpensive set that includes the double-decker couch, Emmet’s little car, and five minifigures; Benny (who previously only appeared in the #70816 Benny’s Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP! set), Unikitty with two different facial expressions (Unikitty collectors were extremely happy about this), Emmet, Ghost Vitruvius (unique to this set), and President Business. As you can see, this set is all about pleasing LEGO fans and give them what they asked for, so thank you, LEGO! I recently got The LEGO Movie Double-Decker Couch set, and although I’m very happy with it, I felt that the design for the couch could have been improved. W
hat bothered me particularly is that the ladders somewhat flair out to the sides, and they also easily fall over as they are not clipped in at the top. I also didn’t like how the ends of the couch were constructed; in general I lake sideways building techniques but I felt that here the construction was a bit too messy and too clever for its own good. So I set out to fix my double-decker couch and come up with a better version. I started out by looking at images of the double-decker couch from The LEGO Movie itself. I wanted to see what were the differences between the movie version and the LEGO set version, and if I could incorporate some of those features. I found a very interesting comparison at the LEGO Answers forum on StackExchange. Member HaydenStudios recreated both versions of the couch in LDD (LEGO Digital Designer) and posted comparison pictures. In the picture below the LEGO set version of the couch is on your left, and the movie version is on your right (images by HaydenStudios).
You will notice several differences right away. The LEGO set version of the couch has studs on some of the seat-cushions so minifigs can be attached without falling off (1). Also the movie version has two layers of blue plates on the seats, whereas the LEGO set version has only one. In the movie there are storage compartments under the seats that our heroes used as hiding places when the submarine got destroyed. The armrests are also different both on the top and the bottom level of the couch. Also the armrest in the LEGO set incorporates the attachment to the ladder, whereas in the movie version the ladder is attached differently (2). The ladders in the LEGO set version are higher up than in the movie version, and also note that in both version the ladder is not attached at the top (3). There are round 1×1 studs placed on the bottom of the upper level of the movie version, but none are found on the LEGO set version (4). I particularly like this feature because it truly looks like two full couches were placed on top of each other, so I was planning to use this feature in mine. 😀
In the second picture you can see both versions of the couch from the back. This time the LEGO set version is on your right, and the movie version is on your left. In the LEGO set version the back rest have more layers of plates, which ensures that the construction of the set is sturdy (5). The 1×2 plates with bars in the LEGO set version are used to connect the backrests with their corresponding seats, whereas in the movie version they are not connected to anything (6). HaydenStudios mentions that because of this the seats on the upper level are simply suspended in midair, and the backrests of the lower level are just sitting there with nothing attaching them to the seats. This is why replicating the movie version 100% and keeping it together is physically impossible. Another difference is that in the LEGO set version the two levels are connected by LEGO Technic tubes which connect to 2×2 plates with holes. The two levels of the movie version are connected by long cylindrical columns, with minifig neck-brackets attaching them at the top (7).
As you can see, there are quite a few differences between the two versions of the double-decker couch, and you can play with those features to make your own. For my version I decided to get inspiration from both designs and also include my own ideas. Some of the main differences are that I straightened the ladders and clipped them in on top, and also rebuilt the sides of both levels of the couch in an upright position. I feel that this is a simpler and cleaner design. While right now I’m using dark-gray clips for the cups I’m planning to replace them with light-blue ones to match the rest of the couch. Also, the 1×2 plates with bars used for attaching the ladders at the bottom are available in light-blue and I’m planning to replace them also. This way the sides of the couch are a uniform blue. I did some modification at the back as well, but it is quite minor. I have been keeping the double-decker couch on my desk and have been doodling with it whenever I take a break. I’