Golden Girl and the Guardians of the Gemstones Figures

[Originally published as a blog post on 21 May 2012]
Golden Girl and the Guardians of the Gemstones was a response by Galoob to the popularity of He-Man, aimed at girls. The line received its trademark about the same time as She-Ra (Mattel's girl-oriented He-Man spinoff), but unlike He-Man/She-Ra, Golden Girl didn't have a cartoon to help sell it. 1984/85 is when the toys issued, and the line was a pretty small one. There were only 6 "heroes" and 5 "villains" and of those 11 figures, only 2 token males.
Though many people might dismiss this toy line as a She-Ra knock-off, in some ways they were actually superior. They were a bit edgier than the She-Ra line, a little brawnier. The shields the figures came with were diecast metal! But there were fewer characters/figures, and no supporting television series to help drive sales.
===Who Was First?===
Checking online for trademark and copyright filings, Galoob/Leisure Concepts, Inc. filed for their Golden Girl trademark on November 2, 1984 and it became active July 30, 1985. They received their copyright for Golden Girl and the Guardians of the Gemstones December 4, 1984. It's possible that the two competing lines were in parallel development, or perhaps there was some toy espionage going on (yes, really), but for all practical purposes, She-Ra and Golden Girl were released at the same time. Mattel received its copyright for She-Ra (alternate name, She-Rah) November 20, 1984; their trademark filing date was October 23, 1984, and became active May 21, 1985. TL;DR –
She-Ra Princess of Power (Mattel)
*© received November 20, 1984
*® active May 21, 1985
Golden Girl and the Guardians of the Gemstones (Galoob/Leisure Concepts, Inc.)
*© received December 4, 1984
*® active July 30, 1985
So had there been internet in 1985, Mattel could have trolled and posted First! on some message board for toy manufacturers, irritating everyone.
===The Line===
Galoob had action figures, fashion outfits, horses (with chariots) and a castle playset, plus there was a boardgame (Parker Brothers) and books, in addition to various other licensed products.
The figures had rooted hair, boldly decorated facial features (heavy eyeshadow in most cases), and torsos that had slightly molded abdominal muscles – they are female figures, so nothing too defined (the male figures are more muscular, as one might expect). The cloth capes have sewn-on snaps, and they all have diecast shields to carry that are quite heavy. [They would not get made like this today; they have edges that are a little too sharp, and if they were thrown they could hurt someone.] They have removable headpieces and sword belts, as well. They all come with gold plastic combs that look vaguely like battle axes.
==== Figures ====
===== Heroes =====
*Golden Girl: the blonde leader of the group, silver eye shadow and gold armor
*Jade: redhead with green eyeshadow and green armor
*Onyx: (the single Black girl in the bunch) brunette with white eyeshadow and pink armor
*Prince Chroma (token male hero, if you're a completist)
*Rubee: strawberry blonde with red eyeshadow and red armor
*Saphire: blonde with blue eyeshadow and blue armor
===== Villains =====
*Dragon Queen: hot pink hair, dead-white skin, blue eyeshadow and black armor
*Moth Lady: two-tone purple and lavender hair, purple eyeshadow with "segmented" textured purple armor; her cape is split to accommodate wings
*Ogra (token male villain, if you're a completist)
*Vultura: navy blue hair with white streaks, blue eyeshadow with red armor
*Wild One: blonde barbarian with black "tribal" markings on her face and legs, with blue animal hide-textured armor
====Vehicles, playsets====
*Olympia (Golden Girl's white unicorn, also came with a chariot)
*Shadow (Dragon Queen's black horse, also came with a chariot)
*Palace of Gems playset (on some packaging it's Palace of THE Gems)
*Dream Tent (in red, pink, blue, and black)
===="Adventure Fashion"====
Each of the nine female figures had carded outfits with the following themes (for 27 total outfits):
*Evening Enchantment
*Festival Spirit
*Forest Fantasy
=== Gallery ===
File:Dragonqueen1.jpg|Dragon Queen
File:Goldengirl1.jpg|Golden Girl
File:JadeGG1.jpg|Jade
File:Rubee1.jpg|Rubee
===Where to Buy Them===
The best source for these figures is ebay. You might get lucky and find them at a yard sale or at a toy show, but the likeliest place is the online auction house. Most sellers realize how scarce the figures are and price them accordingly. And if they're not priced high to begin with, the bidding will quickly end any hopes of finding a bargain. Don't expect to pay much less than $25 for a figure with all her accessories (shield, cape, helmet, weapon, comb) in an auction. One advantage of a toy show is that you can haggle with a dealer and see the figure up close, so you know exactly what you're buying. 
===Other Links & Info===
10 Greatest Toylines without Cartoons, article by Rob Bricken (Sept. 16, 2008)
Golden Girl at artist Darah Herron's site (also has info about other girl-oriented action figures)  
Ghost of the Doll, a UK site about toys from the '80s and '90s
English language Golden Girl commercial
Category:1980s
Category:Galoob
Category:Gallery
Category:Checklist
Category:Toy Line
Category:Token Male
Category:Magical Girl
Category:Science Fiction and Fantasy