I wasn't going to throw them out. I will definitely repurpose them in some fashion, even just to use as a test blade build.

After toying/scraping the pad I've managed to get a good joint of solder, however, this has broken through the pads, so the solder joint is connected to the edges of the pad. Essentially, I've made a hole in the pad and filled it with solder. Although it's not a great joint it has got a connection, I tested it with a battery and the first pixel lights up, so I beleve (luckily) i've fixed it lol. At least as a test connection. I'll see how things go.