Somewhere in my vast knowledge of retracts is to make the nose wheel swivel so the nose gear wheel will go flat in the fuse. Jet Hangar Hobbies in their f 86 kit has a description and illustrations on how to do it. If you know someone with a set of old plans, you could see if it would work for you. Picture of my Dirty Birdy with Hobbico
mechanical retracts. Nose wheel sticks out about an inch

Hal Peters
Old time pattern flyer