Our latest Britbus Irish bus commission takes a break from the Olympian tooling and looks at a rather attractive liveried alternative in the funky (well, for the 1980s!) MCW Metrorider. 

This time we focus on the only Metrorider ever to work for Bus Éireann, MB8.

Former Dublin Bus MCW Metrorider MB8 was the only such bus to enter the Bus Éireann fleet. After beginning its life as a Dublin Bus "Local Link" bus, it transferred to Bus Éireann in the mid 1990s.

It first operated a "Hotel Shuttle" service in Galway, before moving to Cork and operating the Cork City "Shuttle Service" before being withdrawn and sold onto private operator Barry's of Cork and finally leaving the road in 2005.

Our model represents it in both Galway and Cork condition.

Our model recreates the specific branding as worn in Cork and Galway, and includes flush glazing, diecast construction with a fully detailed interior and a wealth of separately applied plastic detail. Working from photographs of the real bus, we were able to include unique details such as the use of euro and original registration plates on each end of the bus, and the various lettering panels from the real thing.

Scaled at 1/76, it is the perfect size for OO layouts, and belongs in any Irish model bus collection.

Each model comes in special presentation packaging, with mounted display case and a limited edition certificate. Two options are available, the "Hotel Shuttle" for Galway and the "Shuttle Bus" for Cork, both limited to just 252 pieces each with limited edition certificates. 

If there are any left we will have some for sale at the Wexford Model Railway Show this weekend. And no, this is not the Wexford show announcement, that comes on Sunday! See you there. 

Priced at just €39.95 each, these buses are now in stock and we can be ordered for immediate dispatch by clicking the link below:

ORDER YOUR BUS RIGHT HERE!

(We would like to thank Derek Farrelly and Darren Hall for their invaluable assistance in the making of this model)