Greetings and Welcome to OZformers!

From the sounds of your story mate, your love of Transformers has certainly reawakened from it's dormant state; congrats on re-obtaining your treasured favourite toy in Grimlock!
It certainly sounds like you're well on your way with your collection, as many will no doubt mention; We really enjoy perusing the collection's of others so if you'd like, please do consider posting some pics here.

I too have found that the old G1 cartoons no longer quite 'do it' for me either , don't get me wrong though as I still love them but I just can't watch any more than 1 or 2 at a time as they really just haven't stood the test of time (Unlike the '86 Movie though ) IMO; I started looking into the 80s Marvel Comics in late 2010 and I've got to say that I prefer them immensely as they have a far better story and level of writing and are just a joy to indulge in.