Splinters account of the birth of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was not 100% true. This becomes evident when the turtles stumble upon a mysteriously familiar shrouded figure travelling the sewers and alleys, picking through the garbage and feasting on scraps. When the turtles first make contact with the mysterious female turtle they are at a loss for words, splinter is not. He soon tells the boys in quiet shame that he has not been truthful and forthwith with them. The night he found the turtles there were not four, but seven! The morning after the ooze spill he was amazed to find the turtles had grown at an alarming rate, however Three had wandered off. Gia was one of these three. Now, as Leo, Mikey, Raph, and Don embark on a quest to find the last two lost turtles, Gia will train under splinters tutalage to become the fifth Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

The figure started as a classic 1989 leonardo figure with a hard, not soft, head. The head was carved down so that when clay was applied her head would be in correct ratio with the body. I sculpted her head, chest, and special halter type straps on her belt to cover her naughty bits. I also needed to create a base due to the fact that she is quite top heavy. I figured a puddle of ooze with a cracked canister would be appropriate. I also sculpted her weapon and left it orange to match with the weapons from the classic figs.

Her name, Gia, is short for Giovanna, a female renaissance artist. The guadlines for the name were that it would have to be able to be found in a book of renaissance artists, like the book splinter got the others names from, and I also wanted to make sure it was a longer name with a "for short" name like the rest of the turtles. Lastly, the name could not start with an L, M, R, or D, for sake of the belt initial.

I had a lot of fun making this one, (my second custom) I hope you enjoy it! -DG