„Some of the really old ones just had a spot the difference thing going on.” LEGO set from the 70s perfectly illustrates how instructions have improved

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It seems that LEGO blocks continue to gain popularity as they age, and a significant factor behind their enduring charm is their ability to replicate characters and scenes from popular culture, like the recently unveiled Transformers character. Interestingly, this isn’t the first set in this series, as it follows a model of Optimus Prime, the most iconic Autobot. The LEGO company suggests that building this model will evoke memories of the 1980s.

It’s important to note that this rule primarily applies to the early days of the Transformers universe, specifically the animated movies and comics from that era. The clarity and ease of understanding of the instructions included with the toy sets, however, are a different matter altogether. These instructions, unfortunately, were not always user-friendly in their presentation. They hark back to an earlier time, as they were often difficult to comprehend.

Instruction type – guessing game

This issue was once again discussed on Reddit by a user named Bokononismatism. They shared images of an old instruction manual for the 1978 948 model, specifically a small, blue go-kart. To catch readers’ attention, they pointed out how intricate and challenging the instructions seemed. Inexperienced builders were left surprised by suggestions that included building a reciprocating piston without providing specific instructions, instead implying that they would need to figure it out on their own.

While the piston itself isn’t particularly complex to assemble, it serves as an example of the broader process for providing building instructions. Unfortunately, these instructions used to have significant gaps between steps and sometimes lacked a list of necessary parts altogether. In comparison, other commentators note that they were more akin to old catalog photos, indicating how sparse the information provided was at times.

It’s quite remarkable how comprehensive these instructions are compared to the older ones. In fact, they even specify the components required for each stage, whereas some of the very old ones only offered a “spot the difference” type of activity.

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In the ’80s, when I was a child, most of the sets I constructed lacked a detailed parts list for each construction step. It seems that only the more advanced or expert-level sets came with such lists.

-Bokononismatism

Recently, I found myself at my parents’ place with the children, revisiting some old assembly instructions. It’s amazing I ever pulled off putting something together back then.

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In addition, certain comments exhibited a sense of nostalgia for the complex, challenging assembly instructions from the past. Some individuals argue that straightforward instructions, without explicit guidance, foster understanding as to why each component should be placed in its designated spot, while simplified instructions may detract from the enjoyment of constructing the models themselves.

Making such a change, which was generally well-received by the building community, seems primarily driven by the intention to attract a broader user base. From the manufacturer’s standpoint, simplifying the entry requirements for this hobby appears logical. However, from the consumer’s perspective, it might be more beneficial if the cost of the model were reduced rather than its assembly complexity.

It turns out that some of the old instructions were challenging to understand and required frequent flipping through pages to ensure we selected the correct part. What’s more, these steps had to be followed only to later discover that an error was made, requiring us to disassemble half of the model to make corrections.

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2025-07-22 16:03