With the D31 Goblin moved away from their traditional styling into a much more modern look. My correspondant John Atack describes his D31 as having a white plastic plinth with a recess at the front edge. The clock surround and controls are the same as the subsequent 833 and share its pink colouring. The clock dial has numerals, and the hour hand has a small hole drilled in it for some unfathomable reason! The kettle sits on a black plastic tray switch that has locating slots at its rim for the kettle. The kettle tapers slightly towards the top, with a butterfly or wing nut style handle through which the exhaust spout runs and points (hopefully) in the direction of a teapot you have to provide.

John comments that this model specifies a 40w candle bulb, in contrast to the 15w standard bayonet pygmy bulb specified for other Goblin models. The 40w bulbs generally had a poor life, especially when burnt horizontally, although changing the bulb was a relatively easy operation. Incidentally John adds that the 15 watt is a fragile bulb and not as common to find in shops or supermarkets as the 25 watt, although the latest product do have a better filament support these days and do last longer. Many folk will, he supposes, replace the 15 watt with the 25 watt. He doubts if this will cause an immediate problem but in his experience and as evidenced by one of his own machines, it can lead to melting or distortion of the plastic diffuser cover or possibly worse if left on for ages.