u/kkibb5s

I’ve finished my Lightning collection (for now lol) with dyed lowers, 3 slide colors and 3 different micro red-dots that I like. My Lailaps remain in their boxes lol.

Since my post 2 weeks ago on trigger response, more Lailaps have gotten into content creator hands and more recently 40Max have put out a new metal trigger. I’ve ordered it for fun but until it arrives, my 2 cents:

1. PSA: The trigger pin is very difficult to punch out, much moreso than the rear takedown pin. I cracked 3 lowers removing triggers to prep for dye before I said fuck it and left it in (which worked fine). The cracked lowers would probably hold up to normal use, just be forewarned.

2. Somewhere along production 40Max went from a symmetrical main trigger spring to a single-sided spring. These new triggers have a lighter pull, but also less distinct 2-stage trigger travel, since the internal D-trigger spring is fighting against a weaker main trigger spring. The result is a bit of mushiness, but no change to functionality, because…

3. The inner D-trigger blade is the only part that hits both the pre-spin button and the fire button. On trigger pull, the surface marked A hits the lower pre-spin button first, then the surface marked B hits the upper fire button. The outer trigger doesn’t actuate anything. Problem is…

40Max says this about their new metal trigger:

Key Features

•Newly designed metal trigger for improved durability

•Clear and distinct two-stage trigger feel

•Faster and easier pre-spin activation (when Pre-Spin is enabled in settings)

•Improves hot-start firing performance and trigger response

•Comfortable metal texture for better finger feel

•Long-lasting and wear-resistant construction

From what I understand, these 2 improvements are not possible by only changing trigger geometry, and improving “two-stage trigger feel” does nothing for responsiveness when you panic-fire to get a dart out because only 1 part of the trigger does the firing. Maybe they have made it so both actuation surfaces reset a bit closer to their target buttons but this only shortens the effective trigger travel and would only improve trigger response by how much less time it takes for your finger to travel that shorter distance: Single-digit miliseconds, if at all. Even that has issues, because if the buttons bottom out before the trigger does, over time the buttons will surely break. Many considerations.

No, they likely need a software or electronic solution to fix their Lailaps, if there even is a one. Trigger geometry ain’t it.

I’m expecting these new triggers to arrive next week and even then I’m not sure how I will install them since I’m tired of breaking my stuff. We’ll see.

**Video is 50% playback speed to show the difference. Actual delay is still very noticeable.

I compared the new “Lailaps” secondary (left orange, also what is that name lol), with the original Lightning (right clear):

As soon as I unboxed the new one I felt something was off, and this is obvious when compared side by side. Lailaps’ first trigger pull response is *significantly* slower than Lightning’s. This is with prespin “on”. On the 4th and 5th trigger pulls, I “half-cocked” the Lailaps which pre-activates the prespin, and it is still noticeably slower than a Lightning full trigger pull.

**I currently have 2 Lailaps and one is faster than the other, but still slightly slower than Lightning. Video in replies.

***Both batteries used were fully charged. However, I want to do more comprehensive testing with different batteries to rule out battery health.

Other observations:
-Lailaps is advertised as “up to 150fps” while Lightning iirc never had an advertised fps but tested consistently around 130-140fps. Because of the slower trigger response, I’m not compelled to chrono at all because why bother.

-Lailaps is claimed to have faster trigger response for follow-up shots. I didn’t test this. 40Max has a video of this on their FB page which seems to support this improvement.

-Lailaps is advertised to have a new dart sensor which more reliably feeds dark/black darts, but 40Max have simply replaced the light sensor with a physical sprung sensor…which doesn’t do anything??? Lightning couldn’t dry fire without a mag, but could dry fire with an empty mag (even with black tape on the mag follower). Lailaps can dry fire in any state, empty mag or no mag. They could have easily made the Lailaps prevent dry-fire on empty.

-Lailaps drops wifi and is not firmware upgradeable to my knowledge, so pre-spin and dry-fire behavior cannot be tuned unless 40Max changes the params at the factory.

-Lailaps has a smaller secondary PCB that is not screwed into the lower. This is the #1 improvement both for user servicing as well as ease of installation and after-sales support at the factory, I imagine. I have torn and repaired the power wires on 2 Lightnings during (the terrible) disassembly when you have to forcibly pry apart the upper and lower.

-Lailaps still fits in my kydex holster 🙂

**In fairness Lailaps has a few other improvements: The new onboard menu makes it easier to change FPS and burst settings; you could also do this on Lightning but you had to remember the inputs. Auto power-off is another nice feature. The optics-ready slide upper is great, but you can also buy the slide separately to upgrade the Lightning.

Overall the Lailaps is still a solid secondary but having worse trigger response vs. Lightning and losing the ability to update firmware are surprising and disappointing regressions. I speculate with no factual basis that this update was more for improving cost and ease of manufacture.

Latest pics in comments

Yea or nay? Personally I’m on the fence.

I used the same dyeing process as I ran on my Lightnings. The results are…OK, I guess? Not flawless. Counter to everything I read, the injection-molded nylon didn’t take color as well as polycarbonate, or there could be variations in material density from the manufacturing; Edges took more dye than flat faces, and flat faces had dull and bright patches consistent across 2 lowers I tested.

Although I hate spray-painting it probably could have produced a better final result.

Side note: I dislike the sling hook add-on accessory. When I bring up to aim, the sling gets on my cheek. They could and should have made this ambidextrous with another attachment point on the right side. Or better yet, an attachment point on the stock buttplate, where it belongs.

Dialed in my dyeing process and went to work on my Lightnings. Both grips and one slide were dyed black* while the pink slide is from 40MAX. Whatever PC these are made of, they take on dark colors very well and the result is just about opaque. Lighter colors are less awesome. I tried to do a tan slide and it turned out pee tinted.

Steps:

1. Disassemble blaster into slide and grip halves. Remove everything from the slide piece. The trigger and mag release can stay on the grip piece.
2. Boil water in a big pot that cannot be used for food afterwards. Make sure the pot is big enough that the pieces can be fully submerged without touching the bottom of the pot. The taller the pot the better, so that as the dye boils and bubbles, it doesn’t splatter everywhere.
3. Tie the pieces you want to dye with string (I used cotton cooking twine) to a rod or coat hanger that will rest across the pot rim. Use a sliding knot so you can adjust how high/deep the piece is suspended in the dye bath.
4. Once the water is boiling, stir in the dye then lower the pieces into the pot for 30-60m, heating the whole time. The boiling does a good job of agitating the bath, but it doesn’t hurt to occasionally stir and check, especially if you’re going for a certain shade.
5. After 30-60m, remove the pieces and rinse with cold water.

*I used 2.5 bottles of Rit DyeMore Graphite and 0.5 of Midnight Navy.

Ordered new “optics-ready (lol)” “slides (also lol)” from 40MAX and got them today. Pretty sweet! The mounting holes are RMR pattern and only need 2x M3x12mm screws. Don’t crank the screws or you’ll crack the polycarbonate. Snug is enough.

EDIT: 12mm screws are for the SRO optic in the photo. You’ll need to figure out the right length screws for your optic. The mounting holes are 5mm deep, don’t exceed or you’ll hit the PCB.

Next up: Dyeing the grip module. Black+pink combo maybe?

Folding stock:

1. First you need a short pic rail adapter that ideally has holes exactly 3 slots/30mm apart. I found one that was originally for fixing to helmet ARC rails, it has exactly the right dimensions with threaded M4 inserts. I used M5/M4 screws to attach this to the receiver body, with metal washers on the inside and the aluminum sling attachment plate on the outside for reinforcement.

2. There are tons of folding stock options out there, you just have find one that attaches to pic rail. The problem, is the battery. The original 1300mah is an excellent unit but is quite chonky. I got a 600mah 4S 120C LIPO from CNHL that is less than half the volume, but sadly still does not fit into the grip. However, it goes snugly into a Kiwi-style single mag pouch which I’ve temporarily zip-tied to the stock. Velcro onewrap or some other kinda strap would look nicer. Join me next time as I find out if this battery can actually drive the Vesper. For such a small battery I suspect its C-rating is bogus and I can’t find my XT30>60 adapter to test it for now.

Ultimately I think the original battery compartment and collapsing stock are nearly perfect and I’ll eventually go back to that config once the novelty wears off.

Hot/hyper mode switch lockout:

Unlike the folding stock, this mod is actually useful and I highly recommend it. I see no reason to ever have the blaster on cold mode ie no pre-rev, but every time I set it down on its right side, the mode switch gets pushed in. To fix that, you need a round spacer that is about 9mm OD and 3mm thick, ID doesn’t matter. Take out the mode switch and stick this spacer into the gap, then reinstall the mode switch, sandwiching things into place. Now, no more cold mode.

*You could just as easily do this on the left side to keep it cold mode only.

Enjoy!