Ok, I got some rolls of cork and I've used them for a desert scene, but haven't done much as far as using them for buildings yet? I think it'd be great to use for walls, but how do I get the roll to flatten out? Do I have to just glue it to the side of something more ridged like wood, or foam board? Is this the wrong kind of cork? I'm in the designing stages of making a Vietnam diorama of Hue and I want to use this technique.

Hello Brad
Yes, for made buildings in cork you need made first a rigid structure in carboard or similar material. please see these link

http://www.panzernet.com/galeria/fabrimig/fabrimig.html

you can see in these photos how I made a factory using cardboard and cork
I hope that these helps

Carlos

Ok, I see it now. Did you actually build that brick by brick #:-) I remember seeing that when you first posted it and I always loved how real that looked. Just curious, but what brand of cork did you use, and are there different grain (particle) sizes that I should look for?

Brad,
modlrmike wrote a very good article on cork and its uses in dio's. Heres the link
https://armorama.kitmaker.net//features/205
its well worth a read if your not already familiar with it.

In order to get the cork to lie flat, I usually cut an 8x10 or similar sized sheet from the roll and place it under a telephone book for a couple of days. You can then cut the strips you need to make your bricks. When doing buildings, make a template first out of foamcore or stiff cardboard. You then only need to glue your bricks to your templates, and glue the templates together to make the buildings. A good trick is to make up the template and then cut cork sheets to cover the areas you want to represent as brick. This will let you know how much cork you need in the end. It will also let you work on each segment individually.

It's been my experience that there are no real "brands" of cork. I get mine a the building centre from a bulk roll. There also seems to be no real difference in grains. I notice that you are in the US, so Home Depot or a similar store should have this stuff on hand.

I'll be writing a part two to my cork article sometime in the new year.

I buy a fine grain cork from ACE hardware, but have seen it elsewhere. To get the cork roll to lay flat. I steam it for a few minutes... simply hold a section over a pot of boing water in the tea kettle... then lay on a flat surface for an hour or two while it cools....

Hmmm, would an iron like you use iron clothes work?

I'm sure it would; just make sure you put down a pressing cloth first.