Thermoforming - Plastics

Thermoforming is also called Vacuum-Forming.

Here is a DIY simple way to vacuum form a miniature car body at home found on YouTube.

The mold cam be made of 3D Print, CNC Wood Router or sculpting by hand using high heat plaster. Make sure surfaces are smooth and a minimum of 1 degree angle for part release.

If you want a durable body I recommend using Polycarbonate (also called LEXAN), more expensive and little harder to vacuum form than PVC or PETG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuOAk0pgsGY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx66mS7U2vY

I've always found "vacuum" forming to be a misleading term. Maybe it applies well on the heavy-wall side of thermoforming, but the vast majority of thermoformed parts people deal with in everyday life are pressure formed. When I first started, I ran a roll-fed vacuum former some and when working with both pressure forming and vacuum forming machines, one quickly sees the difference. Granted, I'm coming from the thin-wall side of the industry, primarily retail packaging and shipping trays. Over the years, I've tried to do some prototyping with some sheet-fed vacuum formers and never found it possible to get the detail or even film distribution with a vacuum former.