You can check this posting on Bentrideronline about Atomic Zombie.
Atomic Zombie builds - BentRider Online Forums Bentrider has a subforum on homebuilt recumbents with posts by people who have tried them
Homebuilders - BentRider Online Forums,
Some people are successful and others not so. I have a highly educated friend (MD) who decided to build his own recumbent even though he could afford to buy anything on the market. It was a fun project and he ended up with a beautiful bike using donor bikes and plans and components from a company in the Northwest (now out of business). It hangs in his garage today about 15 years after he built in because one of the welds failed on the first trial run. He strengthened the weld so it would never happen again but lost interest in riding the bike. Ditto for interest in a long wheelbase recumbent and Greenspeed trike which he owns so it may not just be the failure.