Got lucky with a pretty good deal on a famicom + disk system. I need to take apart the disk drive to see if I got lucky and it is one of the ones that can write disks without modification. If it is, I can get an adapter and overwrite common disks with rare games instead - or sometimes you can save failing disks by re-imaging a fresh ROM onto the disk. Pretty need from an archive/backup perspective.
If I didn't get lucky then I have another thing to motivate me to get off my ass and finally learn to solder.
I did grab a fairly cheap one that is still sitting in the box. It did have good reviews but we'll see. Worst case I can keep it as a backup and won't be out too much. Will definitely let you know if I have Q's cause it seems like having the right iron and understanding it is everything. I really just need to dig into an old board and get my hands dirty to know what I'd need to ask.
You can do a lot with a cheap stick iron once you develop a feel for soldering. It's easy to learn and not much harder to master.
Have fun!