Finally decided to enter the 21st century and order a hot air station and stereo microscope.
Quick 861DW from Taobao, approx 320 dollarydoos delivered (and a few bent nozzles about $11 each). Should be more than good enough for my occasional use if the reviews by Louis Rossmann and the Second Best Amp Hour Podcast host is anything to go by.

The microscope was a bit more tricky to decide on. I went with an old Meiji EMT microscope (~AUD210), it's basically the model that all the Chinese clones are based off. I wanted to go for a zoom model instead (Meiji EMZ, Nikon SMZ, Olympus VMZ) but the used market kinda sucks here, oh well.
Part of me wishes I shelled out more for a new zoomable microscope from China like an Amscope/Omano but ehhhh I'm a sucker for old quality gear. It's not like I have to rework boards 24/7 so I think I can live with the two 1X and 3X objective levels. The 80mm working distance might be a pain, and I don't reaaally want to spend another $200 on a 0.5X barlow, I'll just deal with it.