My meager bank account will never, ever, forgive me for finding out all this. TX for the link & all the info/pictures. It's all very daunting, but I see my future Playmobil heading this way, so it's intimidating and prescient all at once.
If you're wanting to get the best bang for your buck, I personally think it's best to look at what parts are the hardest to find. So, I don't think that the Prison Tower is worth getting (in the UK it's £47.50 - I bought the large castle 3666 for about £50 on ebay) - but the balcony on it is
beautiful and I've not seen it on any sets for years (I'm no Steck expert though), so I ordered a few of them from Direct Service, which I think was about £2.