First let's take a closer look at the latches here. From the outside they are just two buttons recessed a little bit into the top.
To open the lid, push both latches in at the same time and it lifts right up. I'm using one hand on the phone to take the pic, so just imagine that's what is going on here.
And here's how it works. There is a magnet in this latch piece that is attracted to a matching magnet in the lid. The latch is a T shaped piece that isn't glued in and is able to flop back and forth enough to clear the edge of the lid. When the lid closes, the magnets are close enough to each other than it pulls the latch forward and locks the lid.
But to be even more clever, there are two tiny magnets that are arranged to repel each other right where my finger is pointing - one in the latch plate and one in the side of the bottom part of the case. These tiny magnets keep the latches pushed back at this angle until the big magnets get close to each other and over power the tiny ones, pulling it closed.
Here's a side pic showing how the latch is normally leaning back. Those two little square nubs on the back lower part of the latch prevent the latch piece from falling down into the slot in the side of the case since the latch isn't glued in. Pretty clever, right?
OK, time to work on the upholstery work. First, let's test out some foam craft glue - not sure where my 3M 77 spray adhesive can went. Results after 15 minutes are great adhesion on the foam, but the felt ended up funny with a hard glue surface under it.
One final fitting of all the foam pieces to make sure it's all where it needs to be. I used T pins to hold the pieces together so I could pull the assemblies out and keep them aligned.
The Tacky Craft Glue worked just fine to hold together all the foam blocks.
And I found an almost empty can of 3M 77 spray adhesive - enough to do the first piece of felt! Process was to cut an oversized felt piece and push and massage it into place to make sure it fits nicely. Then pull off the felt and spray the 3M 77 on the foam, and roll the felt back into place starting at one end and massaging it into the foam to follow the cutout shapes. Then I squeezed it back into the box and used a popsicle stick to help the felt tuck into the sides nice and evenly.
And looky - the radio fits nice and snug!
But the can of 3M 77 is empty, so it's off to the hardware store after dinner.