Thanks guys!

With decals applied and everything sealed in with an excellent VMS Satin Varnish it is time to play with oils. If you are following this build from the beginning you might have noticed that I didn't use any of the preshading or black basing I would have normally used. That is, because I decided to create all the weathering and paint fading using oil paints. I admit it is a time consuming job that takes time and patience but at the same time gives you total control over the final outcome. I am using Abteilung502 and Oilbrusher paints combined with VMS Universal Weathering Carrier as a thinner.
This is where I am at right now and the weathering is not finished yet.

Very nice work with the oils, Sebastijan @inflames

Thank you, guys!

I liked the previous result of the oil paint rendering and though I could push it even further for more fading. Even though it is time consuming, I am really starting to love this technique.

The weathering does indeed look perfect, Sebastijan @inflames

Great progress and awesome weathering, my friend @inflames!

Clearprop 1:72 MiG-23MLA in progress
Weapons:
missiles are a nightmare to build - nothing wrong with them, really, but just for example, the little R-60s are made out of 13 parts each plus over 20 stencil decals. The larger R-24s are a little better construction wise, but again many decals slows the build down. They look good though in the end!

Landing gear:
It is a complex affair on the real aircraft and the same goes with the model. While the gear struts have nice secure locating positions, great care must be taken attaching all the landing gear covers and their associated actuator arms.

Wheels:
I have to say I am very disappointed in this area. The plastic ones look good, but I've decided to up the ante a bit with Clearprop's resin ones, just to get that little bit more of detail into the build. Unfortunately that was a mistake. Resin has shrunk during curing and the separate wheel hubs were of smaller diameter than the holes in the tyres; I managed to hide the resulting gaps a bit with the main wheels, but front ones were unusable and I ended up using plastic ones. Also the locating holes were of smaller diameter than the plastic pegs on the struts, while the main struts have a "key-hole" like peg, that enables correct positioning of the hubs, but the resin ones have just a hole and you need to modify the parts.

Anyhow, just a few more details left to finally finish this build!

A pity about the wheels, Sebastijan @inflames
For the rest, this kit looks amazing.