Yes, the remote is pretty fugly. The "thousand island dressing" color scheme doesn't help...
I did clean the modules with flux remover after soldering. I haven't been keeping all that close a count of hours, but 40-45 hours to this point is my best guesstimate, not including the time inventorying the parts, ordering replacements, and related activities.
After installing the CRT into the mask, the 4 sides of the chassis frame/magnetic shield are attached to the mask and bolted together forming a rigid box structure. The dag ground from the CRT assembly is grounded to this frame. The deflection yoke is installed into the "flowerpot" style holder, and installed onto the CRT neck. The completed chassis is hung on its hinges, and the degaussing leads and CRT anode wire are connected, before closing the chassis. I elected to replace the somewhat stiff and degraded anode cap with a nice silicone rubber one salvaged from a discarded BPC set.
After the chassis is installed, the entire framework and tube was thoroughly degaussed (using a real coil, not the dinky external one provided with the kit), and the convergence magnets/coils and blue lateral/purity magnets were installed, along with the CRT socket. The convergence board, tuner cluster, and "Troubleshooter" meter are hung on screws in the framework for the initial test/adjustment procedures, and all the interconnecting cables plugged in.
This completes the assembly of the set! Up next, using the "Troubleshooter" to check for problems, and power gets applied for the first time....