I always wanted to try my hand on a lathe. Shortly after Germanicon re-unification, I found a large Sovieticon 4WD with a fully fitted out cabin that contained a small lathe etc. on the airfield. It was almost mine, when an East German NCO turned up and insisted that the lathe (new and unused) together with a whole collection of tools (still wrapped in wax paper) was to be scrapped. Later, it was my pleasure to refuse the NCO his first civilian job.