Hey all,
After paging through my binder of instructions i decided to see which ones i liked and disliked based on how easy they are to understand and how clear they are to follow.
In my opinion, the best instructions belong to TFA while the absolute worst (and i mean worst) belong to the DOTM figures. No other set of instructions have annoyed me more than DOTM. What say the rest of you?

 

I have to say G1 instructions are the easiest to follow. With new figures, I just try to identify the tabs, cause the instructions are so poor that following them kills me. Even though, FE Primes directions was not that bad.

 

Some of the fe toys don't even tell you the right transformations.

 

Anything with "Reverse steps to turn to robot mode"

 

I don't pay a lot of attention to intstruction sheets unless I get stuck, but I'd give mention to the poor Hasbro MP Thundercracker instructions that still use the older MP-03 mold design.

I do kinda miss the old G1 'strip-booklets'. They were easy to follow, and gave you clear words and pictures most of the time, though G1 toys were usually simpler and straightforward in general, so it's hard to say how much is the instructions and how much is the toy itself.

 

The most confusing instructions I ever saw were for Car Robots God Magnus and or Build King. The instruction sheet is huge with tiny pictures and of course written in Japanese.

The instructions I like most are the G1 Mini Bots where it's right there on the cardback. I also like the more recent instructions where alternate heads for future redecos are revealed.

 

Darth Vader/Anakin/Star Destroyer/Jedi Cruiser.... I'm surprised I didn't tear all or my hair out...

 

You people look at the instructions?  

 

Yes, with unfamiliar or new molds I prefer to. Every now and then they do something non-intuitive and I don't want to break my toys  


I agree with what was said earlier - the DotM instructions are far and away the worst ever done. There's something called focus and contrast, and with a lack of either you may as well throw the instructions away. The DotM instructions lacked both. Prime ones are a little better, but I'd still rather have the high contrast line-art stuff.

 

I don't even look at instructions anymore. As long as the figure isn't made shitty where it will break I just look at the back of the package and figure out the puzzle. That's more fun.

 

Worst would have to be the Hasbro MP Thundercracker.. it wasn't even for that mold...

How much worse can you get?

 

Instructions on any new figure are just bad....they need short written steps along with them. Because the pictures do NO Justice.

 

Beast Machines instructions are the worst for me. They only have like 6 pictures to go with, miss steps, and at least two of the six pictures are dedicated to the gimmick of the toy.

 

I'm finding the TFP instructions pretty bad at the moment, because low contrast greyscale photo's aren't exactly clear. Dreadwing took me forever to get into plane mode (incorrectly) the first time because I couldn't really make out WTF I was doing.

Now I know its actually quite easy and intuitive, but that first time? Urgh.

G1 instructions with clear colour photos was good. The hand drawn diagrams were also very clear and I had no issues with those (maybe thats due to the simpler nature of the toys back then?).

 

I know this thread is about the instructions themselves and not the paper they're printed on, but I got something before that was really frustrating and weird. I bought this misb ROTF Human Alliance Bumblebee from a local specialty toy store years ago, opened it when I got home. The box was a bit dusty but otherwise mint, but the instructions' panels were stuck together. They didn't look like they got wet or anything. So I tried to open it carefully, it got torn. Someone from TFW2005 was very kind to send me a scan of the instructions though.

 

Generation One instructions (particularly 1984) aren't just "good", they're really nice pieces of artwork, further complimenting the nice pieces of artwork that the total packages of nice artwork that the '84 class is. Honestly, it is the lens by which I judge the rest of toy instructions. The "blueprint" style instructions of G.I Joe figures are a close second, only tied by those from Transformers from G11985 to the end of Beast Machines (as much of the same style is relatively consistent.

 

ROTF Leader class Optimus Prime. utterly useless.

 

Using the instructions of other molds and unretooled figures for new molds and retooled ones is really bad.

Now for the best ones, I believe G1 Minibots have the best instructions, not that any are needed for most of them, but as Superquad7 said, they are works of art.

 

Don't even get me started with DOTM..

 

TFP Knockout's instructions leave you with a hilariously mistransformed robot.