RE: first war bird, how to decide?
Listen to the little voice in the back of your head, Miloh.
All of us previous "sport-plane-guys" have some warbird we're a little crazy about and always wanted to build and fly. For me, it was the Corsair. Not the easiest or the simplest to build or fly, but I did it and I caught the bug and I'm still sick. Still have the Corsair, too.
Don't worry about the retract issue. If you don't want to mess with 'em now, put in the fixed gear and retro-fit them when you want to. It'll be a huge pain, but you'll learn a lot.
mt
1 Corsair
2 Zero's
2 Mustangs
2 P-38's
1 Fw-190