80" cuts the cost down quite a bit, and actually i didn't mean to dwell on retracts actually the words "competition" scared me more than the retracts The use of retracts themselves don't really bother me as much as which retracts. I good heavy duty set can be very reliable. Top flite makes a nice 80" + Corsair but the retracts for it are probably at the top of the list for least reliable. The P-51 is nice and you could stay with a heavy duty set and be in good shape but it's a plane that is modelled a lot. Pica makes a great P-40 but again the rotating retract problem. I have a nice p-40 top flite that I won't fly because I don't trust the retracts so I understand where your going with that. But don't let them scare you completely away from a plane that you would like to model. It's more a matter of finding a reliable set. I am currently doing a Ziroli P-61 and it's going together great. The retracts I am using are from Gene Barton and have such a good down lock I really trust their reliability. I use kits cut by Laser Lizard and I have been very happy with them in both price and accuracy. You might contact him and see what he has in your size range. [email protected]