An extrusion die assembly is provided for making honeycomb structures of ceramics, glass, and other extrudable materials. The assembly is provided with an apertured, flow controlling forming plate (44) placed against the input (upstream) surface of the extrusion die (12). The forming plate has a central opening (50) through which the batch material to the input face of the die passes. A series of angularly spaced, flow controlling openings (46) lies radially outwardly of the rim of this central opening. These forming plate openings are axially aligned with a shim reservoir (30) downstream of the discharge slots of the die. This arrangement permits both the flow volume and rate of the batch material being extruded to the skin forming portions of the die assembly to be at least partially independently controlled relative to the flow volume to the main, radially central portion of the extrudate. By this construction, the formation of air checks in the shim reservoir and the formation of rippled skin on the extrudate is inhibited.