Glen,
I think you are mistaken if you believe a F11F-1 Tiger will not sell. Look at what the FM kit sells for on ebay. Usually $100.00 or better. It's been OOP for several years now and as soon as one comes up for sale on HS or ARC it sells very quickly. I know, I'm always looking to add to my stash of them. I want to build a Blue Angel diamond formation in addition to squadron examples.
The "no shots fired in anger" excuse does not hold up if you're kitting the -3/4 Banshee. I've not heard of it ever being involved in a hot war unlike the -1/2. Also, Tamiya saw fit to model the F4D-1 Skyray, no shots fired. Hobby Boss, the F3H-2 Demon, no shots fired. Your own F9F-8 Cougar, to my knowledge no hot war use. So that's pretty much a non excuse.
There are plenty of kits done by manufacturers that never fired a shot in war and have sold just fine. I hope you find your way to kitting the Tiger. I am looking forward to your Cougar and Banshee.
Usually those that want to build a 1950's era USN aircraft aren't so interested in how many bullets it fired and where, but rather the various colorful squadron color schemes or a build to flesh out a squadron history collection. Or even just because they like the lines of the airplane. Case in point, I'm looking forward to your trainer version of the Cougar to add to my collection of 1/48 USN trainer aircraft. A T2V-1 Seastar would be nice! How's that for an obtuse interest?
Another overlooked but significant USN 50's fighter is the FJ-3 Fury. Another "No shots in anger" but plenty of colorful schemes and many of todays squadron's lineage can be traced back to flying them.
So don't be so quick to write off an aircraft because it "never fired a shot in anger". That's not really an excuse.
Thanks for the Cougar and Banshee. Really looking forward to them.
Jon K.