I didn't need a microsocope, just a steady hand and a little experience with solder and flux. And a good feeling for how to "blob" the solder in such a way so that it sticks to the bits you want and not to the bits you don't want.

I do admit that I was pretty nervous the whole time. I was afraid that I would lose one or more of the SMT components due to a sneeze or something. They are so tiny that I would never have found them if they had fallen into the carpet.