i was a bit hasty with my reply - this isn't exactly what i was looking for.
The script you mentioned (git-checkout-all.sh) seems to produce the same output i've achieved in a slightly different manner (by cloning specific branches using '-b' switch of git clone command).
It just seems to mark these branches 'active' within local copies of entire repositories.
And i'm trying to set 'active' flags for specific revisions / releases within these branches.
For example the code base of jbpm 5.4.x branch is still being developed with the latest maven version '5.4.1-SNAPSHOT' and what i'm trying to achieve is to move back to version '5.4.0' - the version that has been used to produce the full installer package.
But thanks anyway - i figure i just need this git primer really badly :)