Trevor Wright Squire 1500cc Sports 1935 Hand Made/Painted White Metal Model

Rare, limited run, handmade model of the equally rare Squire 1500cc Sports with bodywork by Vanden-Plas. Cast in white metal in approx 1:43 scale as part of the TW Collection and now out of production.

9cm long painted and assembled white metal model. Painted in gloss red with silver front grille, headlights, windscreen surround (modelled folded), wipers, door handles and boot hinges, blank black licence plates, orange rear light. Silver interior with dark brown seats and dashboard, silver 4-spoke steering wheel with light brown rim, metal gear lever. The static model has cast bare metal wire wheels with smooth rubber tyres. The base of the model is body colour red with engine, suspension, axle detail and an embossed “TW” logo.

Thanks to ultimatecarpage.com for this:

Adrian Squire was in is his early twenties when he announced his plans to design and build a car under his own name in 1931. Despite his tender age, this was an ambition he already held for many years. When he was just 16-years old he had, for example, drawn up a six-page catalog of his 'dream-machine'. A 20,000 Pound inheritance enabled him to turn his dream into reality when he turned 21. At that time he already spent brief spells at Bentley and MG.

Squire's plan was very straightforward: create a small sports car from scratch that could rival the finest machines available. He had learned valuable lessons at his previous employers and had figured where changes could be made to improve the handling. At a time when chassis were relatively flexible, Squire laid down a frame that was very rigid. The conventional main chassis rails were connected by cruciform bracings. As a result of the increased rigidity, the car could be relatively softly sprung, which benefitted the road holding considerably.

Suspension was through a beam axle at the front and a live axle at the back. The first three cars featured a conventional 'over-slung' rear axle, which was replaced by an axle running over the chassis frame to lower the car and accordingly further improve its handling. On both ends semi-elliptic leaf springs were fitted in combination with friction dampers. The hydraulic drum-brakes used were a bespoke design. At 15.5 inch were very large for the size of the car. To keep the unsprung weight at a minimum the finned drums were cast in a lightweight magnesium alloy.

Part of the initial plan was to custom build an engine as well but Squire soon realised that was one step too far. Fortunately he found a kindred spirit in Douglas Ross, who was the managing director of engine builder Anzani. Once the London factory of the Italian company, British Anzani had become a fully independent company in the late 1920s. They mostly built road car engines but Ross pushed ahead with a more advanced twin-cam racing engine. Sadly there had been no customers until Squire stepped up. An agreement for the supply of the Anzani R1 (Ross 1) engine complete with 'Squire' stampings on visible parts of the engine.

The Anzani R1 was a compact and lightweight four cylinder engine with twin overhead camshafts. These were driven by a chain fitted at the rear of the engine. Although originally designed with natural aspiration, the R1 was fitted with a David Brown design Roots-type supercharger. This enabled to produce a reliable 110 bhp, despite its modest displacement of 1496cc. It was mated to a Wilson pre-selector gearbox with four forward speeds. Squire believed that its additional weight was more than compensated by the lightning-quick gear changes and ease of use.

Almost four years in the making, the first Squire was completed early in 1935. It was clothed in an elegant four-seater roadster body by Vanden Plas. Adrian Squire had certainly achieved his goal as the small sports car proved to be hugely capable. Particularly the handling and braking set new standards. The car, however, did not come cheap; complete with the Vanden Plas body it cost a staggering 1195 Pounds, which was Alfa Romeo and Bugatti money. A less luxurious Markham body was also offered soon after, which shaved 200 Pounds off the price.

Squire nevertheless struggled to find purchasers for his car and was forced to sell his company after just seven were produced. At least one of these was a competition car, built with hopes of boosting the car's appeal. Squire's assets were acquired by one of its customers, Val Zethrin. Under his supervision, three additional examples were built. These cars were fitted with an updated version of the R1 engine that tackled the cooling and oil-feed issues, which troubled the original design. Production of the fabulous Squire ended late in 1937.

Soon after the demise of his company, Squire joined Bristol, where he was sadly killed in an air-raid in 1940. It is a big shame he was not able to display more of his undeniable talent. One could only wonder what Bristol's post-War cars would have looked like, had he lived to design them. His legacy is a lovely little sports car that with the engine tweaks certainly was one of the finest built before the War. Today, the nine surviving cars are owned by true connoisseurs and only come to market once every decade.

Trevor Wright

Responding to the needs of amateur builders, Trevor Wright’s TW range has contributed to the revival of the craft side of the industry, whereby he has developed simple artisan examples produced in his own home. Wasn’t that where the early pioneers came in?

Trevor’s childhood recollections are not so much of Dinky Toys to start with, but of military figures. He recalls that soon after the Second World War, his parents took him to the renowned Hamleys toy shop in Regents Street, and he fell in love with the Skybirds range of soldiers. They were all made to 1:72 scale; a six foot man then becomes 1”. Skybirds had originally started manufacture in the 1930s.

In due course, Trevor’s most treasured possessions became his Dinky Toys, but as he approached entry into National Service, his toys were all packed away, and largely forgotten about. However, he does recall a visit to Ireland with Royal Air Force colleagues, and spotting a Dinky Toys military Quad field gun set, and with heavy encouragement from his friends, he bought it for 12/6d.

On returning to ‘civvy street’ Trevor took his experience in Air Traffic Control from Germany to Gatwick, and finally switched to the commercial operator, British United Airways, followed by British Caledonian Airways.

Come 1969, Trevor had begun selling military Dinky Toys, and he recalls being contacted by the Army who were seeking a wider range of military recognition models. In the training room at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, tables were laid out with sand, and he recognised dozens of Denzil Skinner’s tanks of all nations. Trevor agreed to supply the army with chipped Dinky military vehicles, which they then sprayed all over with desert sand paint.

In due course, he found that he had amassed a considerable collection. He had discovered the model car press, replied to 3 advertisements, and realised that there was money to be made from prudent purchasing. He borrowed £200 from his father, and with this backing, in six months had built up a 5 page list, and repaid the loan. His trading included regular advertisements in Modellers’ World magazine, and the swapping of 45 RPM records with a French dealer in French Dinky Toys.

Trevor soon became friends with dealer Bryan Garfield Jones, and together they would visit the Windsor swapmeet, where he met Mike and Sue Richardson. As Bryan’s range of Motorkits took off, Trevor was able to supply him with a few diecast models from European makers to be used as patterns for his white metal ranges. These included the Tekno MGA coupe, Volvo PV544, and others.

During the 1970s Trevor was writing regularly for Modellers’ World, and Model Collector, on military vehicles, his first love.

By 1980 he decided that he wanted to make models for his own collection. He then set about teaching himself to cast using rubber moulds, and passed on much of his knowledge to friend Ian Law, founder of PP Copy Models, making replicas of earlier toys. Retirement from his job as an aviation overseas manager arrived in 1986, and Trevor began his creative work with a number of 1:76 scale trucks, including the Canadian pattern Chevrolet, calling them Military Motors. A few years later, he was approached by Chris Fruin, of London Toy Soldiers, asking if he would make a range of soldiers for him. Trevor switched to 1:32 scale, and at his request, focussed on the Royal Medical Corps, creating a number of boxed sets of figures in action, all depicting First World War poses. These included rather large military vehicles, such as tanks, ambulances, etc.

Post retirement business blossomed, and a strong association was built up with London Toy Soldiers. Unfortunately, in 1993, financial difficulties caused Chris Fruin’s business to close down, leaving Trevor with many unsold kits.

However, another love for Trevor, came to the rescue. At a Kempton Park toy fair his interest in racing cars, led him to spot that the Dinky 23 series and Crescent ranges omitted some important historic cars, such as the Ferrari Squalo, and Alfa Romeo Bimotore.

Using his innovative approach, he first took moulds from existing castings, and then adapted them, with plasticene, cardboard, paper clips, and matchsticks and in true ‘Blue Peter’ fashion, any other materials that would create the desired effect. This provided the masters, from which moulds could then be used to cast new models in white metal. And so a Ferrari Squallo was born, and 5 were sold very quickly!

Through the 1990s, and with the assistance of publicity in journals such as Classic & Sports Car, Trevor realised that 1:43 scale was the universally recognised scale for model cars, and in 2000 talked with Mike and Sue Richardson about their views on him reproducing copies of some of the cars they had modelled in their ranges. Using their original as a pattern, he first made the Squire.

Further exposure in Octane magazine, and Rev Counter, the journal of the Austin Healey club, led Trevor to create new subjects of cars never before modelled, including the range of Healeys made by the Healey Motor Company.

A few famous people have models in their collections made from Trevor’s kits, including the late American singer Frankie Laine, David Coulthard and Sir Stirling Moss.

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