Yeah, the IDW G1 universe is a completely self-contained universe which isn't related to anything that's come before or after it, so you only have 10 years' worth of reading to catch up on (as opposed to say, 31 years' ). And the older stories should be available in trade paperback form, which makes things much easier than chasing up individual issues. Check out places like Kings Comics, Kinokuniya and other major comic book retailers. Kinokuniya lets you order books that are on their database but may not be currently in stock.

Here is a list of the comics in chronological continuity order:
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/IDW_Generatio...ntinuity#Media
Megatron Origin @ Books Kinokuniya; you can use their search engine to find the trades for the other series.

Happy reading!