Anthof, I believe solder ends are only prone to failure if they were improperly attached in the first place. I only use "ring" type ball links such as Dubro or captive bearing links like MK and milled threaded ends that are soldered on. Ball links are sooooo much nicer than z-bends or even a clevis. The only exception is when I use carbon fiver push rods or pull-pull cables, they obviously aren't soldered on to anything. I've used soldered ends on small (40-60) sized, to 2M competition ships and 35%+ aerobatic planes, including high speed planes that do over 300MPH. Thousands of flights. I've snapped a few rods, but not a single solder joint failure. Like others have posted, get everything clean first, remove any oxidation, use flux and good heat. Let the solder to wick in on it's own and then don't move the joint until the solder solidifies. I have had good success with a low powered iron (~25W), but then again I have a knack for soldering. Like others have posted, you may find a higher powered iron or gun easier to use. While not as nice as ball links, z-bends do the job.

As for tail wheel assemblies, for smaller planes up to 120 sized, I'm personally partial to the listed sullivan assembly. I tend to modify the tiller part a bit, but it works good stock. I like it because all the load is sent into a flat assembly that bolts to the fuse, which seems to distribute shock loads better that some other tail wheel assembly designs.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFV46&P=7