thanks for all the supportive comments
to pick out a few comments to reply to, i'll add:
fletch: no i didn't use photomatch, as it was really just an exercise in getting to grips with the basics which SU offers - moving around without the use of view ports of any kind is a little "odd", but as SU is so easy to ckick and drag, i found i got used to it easily. Also, the ability to toggle hide/unhide was invaluable with the arm sections.
stefan: glad u noticed the top image wasn't my doing - materials were from the standard pallet - couldn't find a decent black reflective glass though.
and you'll note i didn't bother with the corner sections - lazy i know, but as i say it was just an exercise to dust off the rust of 3d modelling.
i noted elsewhere someone had designed a robot arm with control pad - which i thought might be a good addition to wall-e, you know make him move on screen? but as this would no doubt involve sketchy physics (which i've not looked into in great detail) i thought might be a little beyond my ken for the moment.
Mike: it was fun - especially as it gave my 6 yr old son the chance to have a go with the basics of SU - definitely something i want to encourage - the future generation of design experts can do so much with tools such as these (and he picked it up so intuitively it's scary!!!).
all in all, son distracting me included, it took maybe 5-6 hours.
the head piece i'm not happy with and the angle i took the snap from doesn't do the model justice enough, but i'm eager to see the actual movie - so both my son and i can be "wowed" by how the professionals do things.
my next project is to recreate the office i built at the foot of the garden. The actual construction took about 6 months of hard labour and brick-laying, so if the SU modelling process is any quicker, i'll be chuffed
thanks again for all your nice comments!
i still feel like a duck out of water, somewhat
but here's to swimming with the big fish here!
warm regards to all
j.A.g