RE: Soldering
Actually, it would probably help us mug punters if Castle (and other manufacturers) didn't tin the ends of the leads for us.
For ROHS compliance I'd expect that they'd be using lead free solder which just makes soldering more difficult (higher temperature and poorer flowing) for the average hobbyist than the good 'ol tin/lead solder that 99% of us use.
I tend to set my iron (wattage?) to about 400degC with a 4mm chisel tip to get the heat into the job fast and get out quick...