The models, sculpted by Paul Hicks, where available in two different manners on the event. Tijl was the model that was in the goodie bag, and at the event you could buy the remaining two in a special commerative box with a printed scenic base.
Originally a trickster figure from German medieval folklore, later versions set him in the days of the Dutch Revolt against Spain.
Born in Damme near Bruges, Tijl joins the Dutch cause against the Habsburg rulers together with his girlfriend Nele and his best friend Lamme Goedzak.
At first a goodhearted prankster playing jokes on the Spanish, over time he becomes a hero and symbol of the Revolt. he even cheats death, rising from the grave before his grieving friends, promising them more adventures to come as they embody the spirit of the Low Countries.
This folkloric figure was the inspiration for a series of graphic books, named "De geuzen" (though the names where changed a little) and even a cartoons series in the early 80s, though there he was more a green dressed, flying, magic wielding leprechaun then a symbol of revolution... but yes, together with his actual book, he was seemingly everywhere in the 80s and 90s... which, as I am from 1978, is full on in my childhood, hence why I picked him.
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