Becoming ever more tightly constrained by observations and theory, the solar dynamo model that we have now bears little resemblance to the model studied just 30 years ago and, furthermore, it is likely to be modified in the near future. Solar dynamo theorists have learnt much over recent years, however we are still far from a complete understanding of how the Sun generates its magnetic field. So what is the solar dynamo, how much do we understand, and why is it proving so difficult to model?