Vac u Form
 

i wonder if this baby could make tank parts

Not very well ---- but it did make nice canopies for 1/72 scale plastic airplanes. I still have mine on a shelf in the garage.

That's Cool Rex Ross

That’s pretty much how they make lexan bodies for rc cars. We had a big one in a high school shop that was made from an air hockey table kind of ran in reverse with a vacuum. We would place the item to be copied on the table. Then we had like a picture frame that we would put Material in and heated it up until it was pliable, then set it over the air hockey table and turn it on

I think you can still get one of them on the ebay .
I tossed one out about 7 years ago when I was moving .
Jimmy

I remember using a smaller version at school, we used it to make moulds from wooden patterns for pouring resin into to cast things. Given the (lack of) resolution we got from the parts made in it, I'd say a basic 3D printer would be a far better investment for what we are doing here.

Now if you were doing large, smooth objects like boat hulls or aircraft parts, Vac forming might be better?