Sounds easy to do . 3 AAA 's and an xml
The old itp A6 Polestar is a pretty floody light. It uses an MC-E emitter and 6xAAs in a battery carrier. I have given several as gifts and they have held up really well. 3 brightness modes and strobe/SOS. About 80 bucks, half the price of the closest competitor the TK40, except floodier.
Check the beam of the older TK40 as you can probably find it on sale. Its well known for having a good balance between flood and throw.
Sides, you can always put a condom or something on the end of any throw light to diffuse it. ;-)
I've been searching for the same thing for so long. I like my xeno e03, but want something that takes at least 6 regular AAs.
There's a thread on cpf about diffuser for tk41 - seems they've found one that works great and is a proper glass diffuser - for an olight I believe
eventually I'll probably go that route - but it costs so much!
+1 for the A6 Polestar (Gawd, that sounds like a stripper name...)
I had mine up for sale, then realized there was nothing else like it around. I'm keeping it. :)
The Olight S65 "baton" replaces the Polestar in their lineup - at a substantial price jump.
I got the S65 Baton for under $60 shipped at dinodirect recently, I know the prices have increased a lot now but you could contact summer and suggest it as the next group buy if you really wanted it..
How about in a 2xAA XM-L? I just got my "Caveman" from Shiningbeam, and am very impressed with it.
No blinky modes, nice finish, about $43.
I read its more of a thrower?
I read that as well, but I disagree; it has a typical XM-L-P60 kind of beam.
No, I don't really think that's the easy way to make a Decent Multiple AA Based Flooder, do you? 
OP might try using two (2) AA batteries in a flashlight that is labeled for AA or 14500...........xeno E03 with an extention. I think it was on CPF and costs $500 tho.
Responding...well yeah, if it is on CPF, it always costs $500 or more for any
Approved Mod..
Thx for the heads up on the S65 Olight. I had noticed they have newer versions of the itp A1,2,3 but not the A6. In fact the I6 which ought to have been the replacement was 1x18650/2CR123.
So I guess the S65 must be it.
Seems a bit steep though...100 bucks? Ouch. The only major advantage I see is that it has a much better low (20 lumens), vs the MC-E which can't be driven that low.
I received my Olight S65 yesterday, I think it is genuinely the best light I've ever owned; UI, quality of construction, efficiency, beam and tint are top notch.
It also comes with a free diffuser, this attaches easily and securely to the head and is made (I think) of ground UCL glass, it cuts hardly any light transmission. It gives a perfect floody beam, literally perfect, I can't describe how good and floody it is, and also makes the tint lean towards neutral white.
Without the diffuser it is a great pure white tint with a good even beam and a good thick hotspot which throws a long way (over 100m). A little less than my BC40 but significantly further than any of my P60 XM-Ls.
Overall I am blown away that I got this for Under $60, it seems well worth $100 to me if you have the money to spare and like to use eneloops. If it was labelled 'Surefire' which it looks like it could be at this quality level then it could well sell for upwards of $300.
I now see S65 is $111 on DinoDirect. I have a $8 coupon from them. After $20 discount, do you think it is still a good buy for $85? (inc. $2 tracking) I know, my TK41 was $110 already. I gues this one is a bit more sizeable.
EDIT: Checked it again. It is $110 on EBay. Should I still wait for another discount season? Like Valentines or Chinese New Year?
EDIT2: Missed the offer I guess. They are stocking them up. Like my BC40 was canceled today.
What about a SF l2r (2xAA) with an XM-L, P7, MCE, or SST-50 drop-in with an OP reflector and a low voltage driver swap? Any of the larger emitters in a P60 size OP reflector should make for some nice flood. Battery life is going to be crap but if the driver you choose has modes it might not be too bad on medium and low. Should be very budget friendly too.
The L2r isn't listed anymore is SF's site... I wonder why. (Maybe they're planning a 3xAA body like I asked them to? 
)
If you don't mind the bulky length, you can always use a Solar Force L2 body + 2 18650 extenders to make it a 4xAA light, or L2 + 1x18650 Extender + 1xCR123 Extender + spacer for 3xAA. Tried it and these both work well as a flashlight or a bat. :)
Owned one of these long before I had any ideas of (usefully) modifying a flashlight. After a few of the leds went dark I took it apart and messed around with the board and some batteries until it went crackle, pop, smoke, fire. yes, fire. whoops. anyway, now all I have left is the tail cap (no idea where the rest went).
I want to buy another. Actually, if DX restocks the next size head down, it would be better for building a flooder...
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-3-4-quarter-inch-109-led-flashlight-98506.html
REDFOREST
can you make the switch illuminate all the time... so that you could find it, say in your tent at night?
also, could you post a pic of it next to something common...like a soda can?
Sorry, I'm not very good at posting pictures. Here is a pretty nice comparative link though: http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTxH17EPN3WuO34YMB1RuVwvm3EkphMgaVV5ICLmJciN6qYdkjPQMC-9jkKEw
I'll try and get one done tomorrow though if I have time and you still want another one, it's smaller than I'd imagined (smaller than the 4x AA LD40 and PA40) but much heavier too with the Ni-mh cells, the head end is much lighter than the tail, which suits an underhand grip a little better (good job it has a side switch).
I would say it is worth $85 if you can get it for that, but you may end up annoyed if it does then later go on sale. Also the $8 gift cards could be used on other things so really the price would still be $93. It's a very nice light though..
I just got my Shiningbeam Caveman and it has more flood than my other 2xAA lights.
One that no one is mentioning is the Jetbeam PA40. It uses 4xAA batteries and it's quite floody. Not exactly budget but if you look around you could get it for under $70.