Mark,
My humble suggestion.
If it was me, and I know it's not, but, I would build a smaller simpler model and retracts aren't necessary if you select an aircraft to model that doesn't have retracts.
A winner of the 2017 Nationals was Allen Goff in Authentic Scale. Allen's model, an Extra 300 sporting CFC Graphics, instead of complicated paint graphics BTW, obviously was well received.
Also again, you may want to consider Sport Scale. Peter Bauer, I believe, won Sport/Fun Scale with a twin engine model of a British aircraft that had no retracts, I believe, a Britten-Norman Islander.
So, you have options if you elect to compete with a much simpler model.
Fred can explain the goings on with each class, I cannot. Fred is one of my mentors.
I don't compete and, as of yet, I have no interest in it.
Well, unless some of the rules get changed.
Good luck!
Charles