Lots of good advice about soldering here. One thing that is very, very important wasn't mentioned, however. If you're buying a soldering iron for this hobby be sure to buy one with enough wattage. The 25-30 watt circuit board variety does not produce enough heat and will NOT solder control links and couplings properly! Be sure to buy a good quality pistol or heavy straight iron with MINIMUM of 90-100 watts. Weller makes a good one and so do several other manufacturers. If you can find one of the Wellers that's dual-heat (I think they're 100W low - 150W hi) that would be ideal.