Thank you for the warm welcome! And so many Dutch speakers … Playmobil has always been ubiquitous in the Low Countries - I remember reading somewhere that initial orders from Dutch retailers were important for taking the new brand off the ground. The oldest generation of Klickies can still be found quite easily in the Netherlands.
Castles, give me Steck
Yes, I know that Steck rules among aficionados, and I do see its versatility and charm (recently got a 5725, which is great!). It is just that, whenever I disassemble old Steck, I fear to break the pieces. The joins are just too strong (would some lubricant work?), and hence prefer the genius System X connector bits.
When it comes to castles, most Steck and System X buildings actually suffer from the same weakness, to my mind: the basic square shape is just not very attractive. 4865 and 4866 are unique in bringing 45º corners, hence my preference.
I agree that 4866 is a very fine castle (I prefer 4865, its not as compact as 4866 but has some great features!).
4865 is just too big (for my play space, not to mention budget
), and I prefer the 4866 gate.
As a child I always wanted to have the 3666 castle. Which did not disappoint once I finally got it a few years ago.
I'm just not convinced of the brilliance of 3666, despite what all the polls keep telling. The klickies are great and so is the round tower, but otherwise it is just a town house lumped together with castle walls. Steck houses are wonderful, but too small to function as a castle hall. 3268 is hence still interesting (even if many pieces are too big, and the castle is a boring square) and 6000 is under consideration (another big square
but great apartments).
Personly I prefer the 5135 as the best pirateship due to the colors, but it seems we can agree that that shape is the best. 
Too bad that the interior of 5135 is different. It may be so that 3940 is a bit too red, but, man, when fully armed with 8 (eight!) cannons, it is just awesome!
Merry Christmas!
