I'm sure it had something to do with the neighborhood kids and how we all watched the same cartoons. During '84 and '85, I had amassed a mighty collection of the following 'bots- Cosmos, Smokescreen, Seaspray, Skywarp, and Soundwave. (I seemed to have a knack for choosing TFs with names that started with the letter 'S')
I remember getting Soundwave for Christmas in 1985, and poring over the instructions until I got it right. I was four, so it took some doing to get it right. Now, I could do it in my sleep.
My older cousin gave me Skywarp, which was totally complete and in pristine condition. It didn't take me long to lose the missiles, and over the years, I even managed to lose the figure completely. Ooops.
I'm told that the minibots were my first TFs, considering I was only three when these started rolling out. I think I got Cosmos and Seapray because my mom and I couldn't find Bumblebee, and to be honest, I thought a boat was a better toy than a VW bug, and I dig that Seaspray toy to this day.
I think I got Smokescreen for my birthday in '85. He had some good battles with Soundwave until I broke him in half at the swivel. I still kept those broken halves, for some reason. Smokescreen was one of the first reissues I bought.
After the movie, I remember getting Kup (who I later discovered was the Targetmaster version- never knew there was two different kinds) and I think my interest in the Transformers simply waned, since the cartoon was airing less frequently, and I was more into GI Joe since I could afford them with my allowance, and they didn't break as easily. Plus the Pretenders showed up, and I thought they were dumb.
I could go on about what got me back into TFs, but that's another thread.