Musing over: Coupling rods...

Well the first hurdle is crossed and I've managed to solder up the slide bar, and coupling rod, and solder them together without locking them solid. No small job (pun intended) despite the tiny fiddly nature of the parts...

And the proof? Yes I assembled and tested and it works fine although I've too much slop in the joint, so may go back and gently tighten it with a touch of the iron. We'll see!