The Telecaster is complete!
I soldered the electrics this afternoon (slightly complex, with two humbucking pickups providing oodles of wires) and it not only works, it sounds superb. It's much fatter-sounding than my Strat, but the tone is clearer than a Les Paul. The sustain is longer than on any guitar I've heard, and I've had (or at least borrowed) a proper Gibson LP Custom. The tone control actually does something, unlike most guitars, and the range of sounds with the 3-way switch and the tone control is very wide.
Pics and maybe a sound clip when I get round to it.