Alaska man lists 18-foot hydraulic mecha on eBay

WASILLA Techies with at least 40-thousand dollars to spare can bid on a towering mecha that shoots flames and has red glowing eyes.
Carlos Owens Junior of Wasilla has listed his 18-foot handmade hydraulic exoskeleton on eBay.

The minimum bid for eBay Item Number 5593908816 is 35-thousand dollars, plus five-thousand dollars to ship the three-thousand pound structure from Alaska.

The 27-year-old apprentice ironworker says he's selling the rust-red machine to fund construction of his next project -- a mobile amphibious mecha that would run on wheels or tracks.

Owens took almost two years and more than 20-thousand dollars to construct his prototype mecha in his parents' back yard. Unlike robots, which are operated remotely, mechas are operated by the person riding inside the frame.

Even for eBay -- an online auction site -- the listing is unusual, to say the least.

Hani Durzy -- a spokesman for the San Jose, California-based company -- says there's not exactly a glut of 18-foot mechas on eBay.

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