Nothing like resurrecting a six-month old thread, but I wanted to add that my youngest son has some learning issues, and has a difficult time with pattern and spatial relationships. Put simply, he doesn't do well with pictogram-only type instructions. He's been trying to build some recent Estes kits and is getting increasingly frustrated because the instructions don't make sense to him.

I'm not suggesting that the kit manufacturers "dumb down" the instructions... In fact, I think the Estes instructions are already "dumbed down" too far. EXPLAIN to a person what they're doing and why. Those who don't need the explanation can skip it. Those who do will appreciate having it.

As someone who is working on a few new kit offerings myself, I know what a time-consuming task well-written instructions are, but I think that taking that time and putting forth that effort helps modelers to build better kits and to learn from the experience.

I'm wondering if we'll ever see model rocket instructions produced along the same lines as those used for LEGO sets - 100% pictorial.

.. or like Ikea instructions?
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f6PLFNjbL...argate-ikea.png
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/83/8a/43/...ravel-legos.jpg

AMEN!!

I thought I was alone in my frustration with these kind of instructions.

Creating instructions was/is the most difficult part of producing a new model rocket kit.

In my opinion, the true test of a hobby rocket 'kit designer' is not developing the model, it's making the instructions.

I am working on the instructions for a new model rocket kit right now. I forgot how much time/effort was involved in doing this since the last time I performed this duty 25 years ago. :eek:

As for getting the job done, I'm fine either way but striking a balance between the two is best.

Estes has always provided good clear instructions. I Love the 2001 instructions, you can almost read them for pleasure like a good book but the trend is toward language free with many photos and that's for just about anything you buy as DIY.

As for vendors other than Estes I have never had a problem but I do have a favorite.

David Miller at Sirius Rocketry currently provides what I think are the best instructions for the kits he produces. They are worded well and with just enough photos; a happy balance.

Of course Dave is a builder / flyer / vendor, so he knows what most of us are used to using.

Verna
www.vernarockets.com
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HHJHOK6
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O14ET8K

+1 to everything said in this post.

Good instructions are hard to do, and Dave really nails it. :)

Don't forget Wes's instructions in the Dr. Zooch kits... comedy and instructions with comic illustrations all in the same package...

Later! OL J R :)

The lack of concise, detailed instructions is more of an issue for newbie model rocketeers who have little or no previous experience building a model rocket, than it is for seasoned rocketeers. The old instructions from Estes and Centuri were tops for well-written instructions. Some of the best old instructions were from MPC, many of which were written by G. Harry Stine himself. These not only walked a rocketeer clearly through the build process, but also explained why it was done that way, as well as presenting consequences for not following a step correctly.
For us seasoned modelers who have built many rockets from sources lacking build instructions like published magazine plans, diagrams, or scale drawings, there has no longer been much of a need for detailed step-by-step direction. Most model rockets use the same basic, well-known construction techniques. The focus of kit instruction use then shifts to being more of a reference for parts placement, dimensions, and paint/marking schemes.
Like a couple of posters ahead of me, I can foresee some model rocket manufactures gravitating toward LEGO / IKEA picture-only instructions.