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Originally Posted by Tarquinius

Few more questions

Went to TRU today and saw Grimlock which was TF Masterpiece? Where and how does this fit? Seems like a traditional character so I would want to say Generations/Classics/Universe.

Hasbro put him in the Generations line for the US release, but firmpulse is correct: he really belongs in the Masterpiece line (he was released in Japan first, with different accessories, paint apps, etc). I would have recommended it above, but I don't have him yet. He's on my must-buy list for certain. Plus, being a T-Rex, he actually does scale rather well with Classics toys from pics I've seen.

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I also saw the TRU Exclusive Universe Figures...and those ARE from the Universe line which leads into the Generations etc? Its not just pure coincidence that they have the same name?

Well, like Shin said, those are supposed to be part of Universe 2.0 (hence the packaging), but they're really redecos from previous lines that are "close enough" to fit in with the overall aesthetic of Classics/Universe 2.0. Oh, and TRU Darkwind is a redeco of Universe 2.0 Silverbolt (simplistic mold, but a lot of fun and character). There are also some Walmart exclusives done the same way (but they only use Universe 2.0 molds). Most of the exclusives are homages to G1 characters.

Actually, sometimes the exclusives can drive you batty if you're a completist or even a mold completist like me.

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And Pirahanacon off of BBTS...whats up with that? Again I have no idea about the mythos here but I know G1 was like...the first series/toyline? So its just a re-release of that?

Pirahnacon is a G1 reissue. And yes, G1 was the original TF toy line that ran from 1984-1990 in the US (through '92 in Europe and other countries). Also known as the Seacons, they were one of the last combiner teams released in G1 and arguably one of the best. All of the smaller ones are interchangeable in combined mode (each one can be an arm or a leg). And each one of those has the ability to transform from robot to creature to limb to hand-held weapon for the combined mode!

Definitely a good start if you want to jump down the G1 rabbit hole

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Core-Combiners, are these in scale with anything else? I don't think so butcan someone help me here

As I said, PCC is a separate line, so it's not in-scale with anything else. What it does have is the sheer amount of customization you can do with the combination gimmick. Any commander figure can be used with any combination of the drones. Plus the Minicon use a standard size peg/hole system making all the Minicons compatible too (even with older lines like Armada, Energon and Cybertron).

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And as far as older lines, (MegaPrime). I might be interested in checkign some of this stuff out, but I might need some more background information about the progression of the Transformers mythos as well as the toyline. How would you say the articulation, paint apps are for some of those lines? Always seemed to me that older transformers had minimal articulation

In general, G1 had the least amount of articulation (some only a couple of points total). As the brand got older, more articulation was added. Then Armada came and the gimmicks in that line practically killed or maimed any articulation the molds had. But since then, articulation has come back in a big way.

That's not to say there weren't a few awesome G1 toys back then that are still good now. Soundwave is a good example of this and probably the best mold in the first 2 waves of G1.

Paint apps have been relatively sparse through the years (G1 had stickers for its details), but for what they've had, it was good quality.

Fiction-wise, the TF Wiki and Wikipedia would give you the nuts and bolts of all the fictional series. Of course, if you have specific questions, fire away.

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Furthermore, does anybody have any checklists for any and all TF lines? Thanks guys you are being very helpful

I have an Excel file that has everything released Stateside up through either Classics or TF07 (can't remember where I stopped), but I'll have to look at it to make sure. There's also the Resources database over at TFW2005.com that has images, stats and reviews for the US releases. It also covers Japanese releases that differ significantly from their US counterparts (or just weren't available in the US).