My Story
“Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself.”
— Virgil Abloh
I'm Tom. I build museum-grade 1:18 scale replicas of the Land Rovers, and other cars, that mean the most to their owners.
Before this, I spent over a decade working in finance. In 2026 I became a father made the cost of that path became impossible to ignore. Every hour away from home had to be spent on something I was passionate about.
At seventeen, I was hand-building a replica of my first Land Rover Defender. I shelved that passion for ten years to build a career. Black Square is me unshelving it.
“I don't want to become the architect of my own prison.”
— Shakira
My "Black Square" Cars
Defenders transformed in a decade. So did I.
10 years separate the production of these two vehicles: a 2015 Defender 90 XS TDCi and a 2025 Defender 110 X-Dynamic L663.
10 years also separate the man I was when I began my career in 2015 from the man I am today. At first glance these cars feel like tokens of that journey, but looking closer they are much more than that.
The contrast between the two is striking. The leaps in technology are staggering: electronic safety systems, lane sensors, adaptive cruise control, automatic braking, airbags (!). And yet the older car has something the new one cannot quite replicate: a strong identity, a disregard for convention, a cheeky authenticity.
That is when it struck me: these Defenders are metaphors for my own development. 10 years ago I was riskier, more raw, perhaps more authentic, too, before life and others shaped me.
The new Defender is already carving out its place as an icon of this decade. But the reason I still drive the 2015 is not just nostalgia. It is a reminder, and a commitment, to carry that original authenticity forward.
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