diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/roxterm/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/roxterm/default.nix
index a8338b80c9e4..60322c2b911e 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/roxterm/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/roxterm/default.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
                          "-I${dbus_libs}/lib/dbus-1.0/include" ];
 
   # Fix up python path so the lockfile library is on it.
-  PYTHONPATH = stdenv.lib.makeSearchPath "lib/${pythonFull.python.libPrefix}/site-packages" [
+  PYTHONPATH = stdenv.lib.makeSearchPath "lib/${pythonFull.libPrefix}/site-packages" [
     pythonPackages.curses pythonPackages.lockfile
   ];
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/2.6/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/2.6/default.nix
index 3b2239791ae0..cbdb55f4cc35 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/2.6/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/2.6/default.nix
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
-{ stdenv, fetchurl, zlib ? null, zlibSupport ? true, bzip2
-, sqlite, tcl, tk, x11, openssl, readline, db, ncurses, gdbm
-}:
+{ stdenv, fetchurl, zlib ? null, zlibSupport ? true, bzip2, includeModules ? false
+, sqlite, tcl, tk, x11, openssl, readline, db, ncurses, gdbm}:
 
 assert zlibSupport -> zlib != null;
 
 with stdenv.lib;
 
 let
-
   majorVersion = "2.6";
   version = "${majorVersion}.9";
 
@@ -27,37 +25,42 @@ let
       # the Nix store to 1.  So treat that as a special case.
       ./nix-store-mtime.patch
     ];
+    
+  preConfigure = ''
+      # Purity.
+      for i in /usr /sw /opt /pkg; do
+        substituteInPlace ./setup.py --replace $i /no-such-path
+      done
+    '' + optionalString (stdenv ? gcc && stdenv.gcc.libc != null) ''
+      for i in Lib/plat-*/regen; do
+        substituteInPlace $i --replace /usr/include/ ${stdenv.gcc.libc}/include/
+      done
+    '' + optionalString stdenv.isCygwin ''
+      # On Cygwin, `make install' tries to read this Makefile.
+      mkdir -p $out/lib/python${majorVersion}/config
+      touch $out/lib/python${majorVersion}/config/Makefile
+      mkdir -p $out/include/python${majorVersion}
+      touch $out/include/python${majorVersion}/pyconfig.h
+    '';
 
   buildInputs =
     optional (stdenv ? gcc && stdenv.gcc.libc != null) stdenv.gcc.libc ++
-    [ bzip2 openssl ]
+    [ bzip2 openssl ]++ optionals includeModules [ db openssl ncurses gdbm readline x11 tcl tk sqlite ]
     ++ optional zlibSupport zlib;
 
 
   # Build the basic Python interpreter without modules that have
   # external dependencies.
   python = stdenv.mkDerivation {
-    name = "python-${version}";
+    name = "python${if includeModules then "" else "-minimal"}-${version}";
 
-    inherit majorVersion version src patches buildInputs;
+    inherit majorVersion version src patches buildInputs preConfigure;
 
     C_INCLUDE_PATH = concatStringsSep ":" (map (p: "${p}/include") buildInputs);
     LIBRARY_PATH = concatStringsSep ":" (map (p: "${p}/lib") buildInputs);
 
     configureFlags = "--enable-shared --with-threads --enable-unicode";
 
-    preConfigure =
-      ''
-        # Purity.
-        for i in /usr /sw /opt /pkg; do
-          substituteInPlace ./setup.py --replace $i /no-such-path
-        done
-      '' + optionalString (stdenv ? gcc && stdenv.gcc.libc != null) ''
-        for i in Lib/plat-*/regen; do
-          substituteInPlace $i --replace /usr/include/ ${stdenv.gcc.libc}/include/
-        done
-      '';
-
     NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = optionalString stdenv.isDarwin "-msse2";
 
     setupHook = ./setup-hook.sh;
@@ -69,6 +72,10 @@ let
         ln -s $out/lib/python${majorVersion}/pdb.py $out/bin/pdb${majorVersion}
         mv $out/share/man/man1/{python.1,python2.6.1}
         ln -s $out/share/man/man1/{python2.6.1,python.1}
+        
+        paxmark E $out/bin/python${majorVersion}
+        
+        ${ optionalString includeModules "$out/bin/python ./setup.py build_ext"}
       '';
 
     passthru = rec {
@@ -96,7 +103,7 @@ let
       '';
       license = stdenv.lib.licenses.psfl;
       platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
-      maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ simons chaoflow ];
+      maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ simons chaoflow iElectric ];
     };
   };
 
@@ -108,18 +115,16 @@ let
     , internalName ? "_" + moduleName
     , deps
     }:
-    stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
+    if includeModules then null else stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       name = "python-${moduleName}-${python.version}";
 
-      inherit src patches;
+      inherit src patches preConfigure;
 
       buildInputs = [ python ] ++ deps;
 
       C_INCLUDE_PATH = concatStringsSep ":" (map (p: "${p}/include") buildInputs);
       LIBRARY_PATH = concatStringsSep ":" (map (p: "${p}/lib") buildInputs);
 
-      configurePhase = "true";
-
       buildPhase =
         ''
           # Fake the build environment that setup.py expects.
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/2.7/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/2.7/default.nix
index b8539d8e64a3..32c7db7a5499 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/2.7/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/2.7/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ stdenv, fetchurl, zlib ? null, zlibSupport ? true, bzip2
+{ stdenv, fetchurl, zlib ? null, zlibSupport ? true, bzip2, includeModules ? false
 , sqlite, tcl, tk, x11, openssl, readline, db, ncurses, gdbm, libX11 }:
 
 assert zlibSupport -> zlib != null;
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ assert zlibSupport -> zlib != null;
 with stdenv.lib;
 
 let
-
   majorVersion = "2.7";
   version = "${majorVersion}.8";
 
@@ -32,32 +31,35 @@ let
       # http://bugs.python.org/issue21963
       ./remove-avoid-daemon-thread-shutdown.patch
     ];
-
-  postPatch = stdenv.lib.optionalString (stdenv.gcc.libc != null) ''
-    substituteInPlace ./Lib/plat-generic/regen \
-                      --replace /usr/include/netinet/in.h \
-                                ${stdenv.gcc.libc}/include/netinet/in.h
-  '';
-
-  buildInputs =
-    optional (stdenv ? gcc && stdenv.gcc.libc != null) stdenv.gcc.libc ++
-    [ bzip2 openssl ]
-    ++ optional zlibSupport zlib;
-
-  ensurePurity =
-    ''
+    
+  preConfigure = ''
       # Purity.
       for i in /usr /sw /opt /pkg; do
         substituteInPlace ./setup.py --replace $i /no-such-path
       done
+    '' + optionalString (stdenv ? gcc && stdenv.gcc.libc != null) ''
+      for i in Lib/plat-*/regen; do
+        substituteInPlace $i --replace /usr/include/ ${stdenv.gcc.libc}/include/
+      done
+    '' + optionalString stdenv.isCygwin ''
+      # On Cygwin, `make install' tries to read this Makefile.
+      mkdir -p $out/lib/python${majorVersion}/config
+      touch $out/lib/python${majorVersion}/config/Makefile
+      mkdir -p $out/include/python${majorVersion}
+      touch $out/include/python${majorVersion}/pyconfig.h
     '';
 
+  buildInputs =
+    optional (stdenv ? gcc && stdenv.gcc.libc != null) stdenv.gcc.libc ++
+    [ bzip2 openssl ] ++ optionals includeModules [ db openssl ncurses gdbm libX11 readline x11 tcl tk sqlite ]
+    ++ optional zlibSupport zlib;
+
   # Build the basic Python interpreter without modules that have
   # external dependencies.
   python = stdenv.mkDerivation {
     name = "python-${version}";
 
-    inherit majorVersion version src patches postPatch buildInputs;
+    inherit majorVersion version src patches buildInputs preConfigure;
 
     LDFLAGS = stdenv.lib.optionalString (!stdenv.isDarwin) "-lgcc_s";
     C_INCLUDE_PATH = concatStringsSep ":" (map (p: "${p}/include") buildInputs);
@@ -65,15 +67,6 @@ let
 
     configureFlags = "--enable-shared --with-threads --enable-unicode";
 
-    preConfigure = "${ensurePurity}" + optionalString stdenv.isCygwin
-      ''
-        # On Cygwin, `make install' tries to read this Makefile.
-        mkdir -p $out/lib/python${majorVersion}/config
-        touch $out/lib/python${majorVersion}/config/Makefile
-        mkdir -p $out/include/python${majorVersion}
-        touch $out/include/python${majorVersion}/pyconfig.h
-      '';
-
     NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = optionalString stdenv.isDarwin "-msse2";
 
     setupHook = ./setup-hook.sh;
@@ -86,6 +79,8 @@ let
         ln -s $out/share/man/man1/{python2.7.1.gz,python.1.gz}
 
         paxmark E $out/bin/python${majorVersion}
+        
+        ${ optionalString includeModules "$out/bin/python ./setup.py build_ext"}
       '';
 
     passthru = rec {
@@ -113,7 +108,7 @@ let
       '';
       license = stdenv.lib.licenses.psfl;
       platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
-      maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ simons chaoflow ];
+      maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ simons chaoflow iElectric ];
     };
   };
 
@@ -125,25 +120,17 @@ let
     , internalName ? "_" + moduleName
     , deps
     }:
-    stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
+    if includeModules then null else stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       name = "python-${moduleName}-${python.version}";
 
-      inherit src patches postPatch;
+      inherit src patches preConfigure;
 
       buildInputs = [ python ] ++ deps;
 
       C_INCLUDE_PATH = concatStringsSep ":" (map (p: "${p}/include") buildInputs);
       LIBRARY_PATH = concatStringsSep ":" (map (p: "${p}/lib") buildInputs);
 
-      configurePhase = "${ensurePurity}";
-
-      buildPhase =
-        ''
-          # Fake the build environment that setup.py expects.
-          ln -s ${python}/include/python*/pyconfig.h .
-          ln -s ${python}/lib/python*/config/Setup Modules/
-          ln -s ${python}/lib/python*/config/Setup.local Modules/
-
+      buildPhase = ''
           substituteInPlace setup.py --replace 'self.extensions = extensions' \
             'self.extensions = [ext for ext in self.extensions if ext.name in ["${internalName}"]]'
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/wrapper.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/wrapper.nix
index ccfbcfcdd42f..37180b1472b1 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/wrapper.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/wrapper.nix
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 { stdenv, python, buildEnv, makeWrapper, recursivePthLoader, extraLibs ? [], postBuild ? ""
-, stdLibs ? stdenv.lib.attrValues python.modules, ignoreCollisions ? false
-}:
+, ignoreCollisions ? false }:
 
 # Create a python executable that knows about additional packages.
 
 (buildEnv {
-  name = "python-${python.version}-wrapper";
-  paths = stdenv.lib.filter (x : x ? pythonPath) (stdenv.lib.closePropagation extraLibs) ++ stdLibs ++ [ python recursivePthLoader ];
+  name = "python-${python.version}-env";
+  paths = stdenv.lib.filter (x : x ? pythonPath) (stdenv.lib.closePropagation extraLibs) ++ [ python recursivePthLoader ];
 
   inherit ignoreCollisions;
 
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/thrift/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/thrift/default.nix
index 4f2b6ec49d7c..29b0c1a9b291 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/thrift/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/thrift/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   patches = [ ./yylex.patch ];
 
   # Workaround to make the python wrapper not drop this package:
-  # pythonFull.override { extraLibs = [ thrift ]; }
+  # pythonFullBuildEnv.override { extraLibs = [ thrift ]; }
   pythonPath = [];
 
   buildInputs = [
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/gpsd/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/gpsd/default.nix
index 62fbd3337f7a..17325ccb2914 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/gpsd/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/gpsd/default.nix
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildPhase = ''
     patchShebangs .
     mkdir -p "$out"
-    sed -e "s|python_lib_dir = .*|python_lib_dir = \"$out/lib/${pythonFull.python.libPrefix}/site-packages\"|" -i SConstruct
+    sed -e "s|python_lib_dir = .*|python_lib_dir = \"$out/lib/${pythonFull.libPrefix}/site-packages\"|" -i SConstruct
     scons prefix="$out" leapfetch=no gpsd_user=${gpsdUser} gpsd_group=${gpsdGroup} \
         systemd=yes udevdir="$out/lib/udev" chrpath=no
   '';
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index bc70e291bdea..9287b0eb310a 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -1868,7 +1868,7 @@ let
   openobex = callPackage ../tools/bluetooth/openobex { };
 
   openopc = callPackage ../tools/misc/openopc {
-    pythonFull = python27Full.override {
+    pythonFull = python27FullBuildEnv.override {
       extraLibs = [ python27Packages.pyro3 ];
     };
   };
@@ -3929,9 +3929,6 @@ let
   python2Packages = python27Packages;
   python3Packages = python34Packages;
 
-  pythonFull = python2Full;
-  python2Full = python27Full;
-
   python26 = callPackage ../development/interpreters/python/2.6 { db = db47; };
   python27 = callPackage ../development/interpreters/python/2.7 { };
   python32 = callPackage ../development/interpreters/python/3.2 { };
@@ -3940,18 +3937,24 @@ let
 
   pypy = callPackage ../development/interpreters/pypy/2.4 { };
 
-  python26Full = callPackage ../development/interpreters/python/wrapper.nix {
-    extraLibs = [];
-    postBuild = "";
-    python = python26;
+  pythonFull = python2Full;
+  python2Full = python27Full;
+  python26Full = python26.override {
+    includeModules = true;
+  };
+  python27Full = python27.override {
+    includeModules = true;
+  };
+  python26FullBuildEnv = callPackage ../development/interpreters/python/wrapper.nix {
+    python = python26Full;
     inherit (python26Packages) recursivePthLoader;
   };
-  python27Full = callPackage ../development/interpreters/python/wrapper.nix {
-    extraLibs = [];
-    postBuild = "";
-    python = python27;
+  python27FullBuildEnv = callPackage ../development/interpreters/python/wrapper.nix {
+    python = python27Full;
     inherit (python27Packages) recursivePthLoader;
   };
+  pythonFullBuildEnv = python2FullBuildEnv;
+  python2FullBuildEnv = python27FullBuildEnv;
 
   python2nix = callPackage ../tools/package-management/python2nix { };