I was eventually able to do this.
1. Copy the makefile in /usr/src/linux
2. Edit the copied makefile , comment out/edit the line starting SUBDIRS so that only the directories for the modules you want are quoted. Usually looks something ike this
SUBDIRS =kernel drivers mm fs net ipc lib grsecurity crypto
I changed it to look like this
SUBDIRS =drivers/char
I also added a line in the DRIVERS section of the copied makefile like this (there are many that look like this)
DRIVERS-$(CONFIG_PRINTER) += drivers/char/lp.o
3 I added a line in /usr/src/linux/.config to reflect the printer module (CONFIG_PRINTER=m)
4. issued command
make -f mycopiedmakefile modules
I ended up with module lp.o which i was then able to slot into the running kernel
hope this of use to someone