(thanks to ATOMIC BREATH Prod. for the pic)The first company to make the 11" Deluxe figure was Popy®. The Golion® figure has a little sticker on the bottom of the Black Lion that says 1981 on it (when Golion® was broadcasted in Japan). A Popy® Golion® figure is worth a lot of money these days. Bandai® took over Popy® around that time and also released the figure under the GoDaikin® line.(thanks to ATOMIC BREATH Prod. for the pic)
When Voltron® was popular, knock-offs like Lionbot began to surface at stores everywhere.
(thanks to R.H. Bruce for the pic)
Lionbot was a Taiwan made copy of the GoDaikin® Golion® and even copied their instructions (but put LIONBOT in substitution of Golion®). Lionbot was sold as a Deluxe set or in four boxes (Black Lion in one box, Red and Green Lion in another, and Blue Lion in another and Yellow Lion in yet another box)(Click here for image of boxes) .
A Taiwan company even named their copy of the toy as Golion (but had the same box as Lionbot). Other knock-offs were Lion King (made in Taiwan), Lions 5 in 1 (made in Taiwan), King Lion (made in Korea), and Jaguarbot (???). The instructions were copied from the GoDaikin® Golion®. Lion King and Lions 5 in 1 have the instructions on the inside flap of the box (they probably were made in the same place). Lions 5 in 1 is kind of cheap in quality. The heads of the Blue and Yellow Lions come off and there is a "V" on the belt instead of a star. The Korean made King Lion is a plastic made copy of the diecast Golion® toy. Today, King Lion and Lionbot are still being produced. There are a few companies that sell them (prices are quite high). The newer Lionbot has the GoDaikin® name removed from the front of the instructions. 
(thanks to R.H. Bruce for the pic)
Matchbox® bought the rights to produce Voltron® toys but the toys were inferior to most of the knock-offs already on the market. The main difference is that these foreign products had all of the weapons (like little swords and missile firing guns) the toy supposed to have. Matchbox®'s Voltron III®(as it was named) had no weapons and the Sword and Star accessories were sold separate from the toy. In actuality, Matchbox®'s Voltron III® was a copy of GoDaikin® Golion®. Matchbox® decided to take all of the little weapons out of their copy. Matchbox® packaged the lions in a Deluxe box set or three separate boxes (like Lionbot was).
In late 1997, Trendmasters® released their Voltron® figure which looks like the Deluxe Golion® diecast figure. This will surely please fans who had the figure at one time as well as the younger fans who wished they had the figure growing up.(Click here for my review of the toy). In early 1999, Trendmasters® also release an all plastic version of the Deluxe figure.
Matchbox® also put out a small 7 1/2" diecast metal figure (Click here to see the 7 1/2" figure) the same time the Deluxe figure came out. The miniature Voltron® III was a copy of the smaller Golion® 7 1/2" figure which was sold in Japan.
After Matchbox® put out their Deluxe figures, Panosh Place® decided to put out figures of their own. The Voltron® Force figures are okay, no G.I. Joe quality, but they were better than nothing (Click here for an image of the five members figures). These figures can fit into the lion vehicles which can form into an 14" Voltron®. Mattel® took over the production and distribution after a year.(Click here for image). LJN® put out a Lion Force Assember as well as a Vehicle Team Assembler. (Click here) These figures are as big as the Matchbox® small 6" figures (the small Matchbox® Lion Voltron® is actually a little bigger- about 7 1/2" instead of 6"). There is also a motorized Lion Force which assembles into an 8" Voltron® (Click here for image). LJN® also put out stuff like Battle Risers (Click here), Giant Commander (big 2' remote control robot with moveable arms, head, and gripping hands)(Click here), Lion Force Computer Control (Click here), and a Battling Black Lion (Click here). When The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers came out, there were many Asian companies that wanted to cash in on the show's popularity. Generic Power Ranger toys flooded the market along with older Sentai toys like Turbo Rangers, Fiveman, and Jetman. Asian companies brought out many knock-offs copied off of toys based on other shows like The Transformers® , Gundam, and of course, Voltron®. Just last year, the specialty shops were filled with knock-offs of the Panosh Place® Voltron® with generic figures in them (the figures don't look like the space explorers). There are a few paint differences including Voltron®'s face. Anyone who has a copy, please let me know how it is.
