Hi Panayotis! I can't say I've studied the I-153 in that kind of detail, but I've never seen any reference to a distinction between early and late I-153's. I believe there were some differences between those with M-62 and M-63 engines, but as far as external appearance goes, these were minor, and were limited to the configuration of the slots/openings in the cowling faceplate, and maybe the propeller. Trouble is, I've never seen drawings or photos that show this in specific detail. You might check the pinned I-153 thread at Scalemodels.ru:
http://scalemodels.ru/modules/forum/viewtopic_t_14166_start_0.htmlThese drawings may help:
http://www.airwar.ru/other/draw/i153.htmlhttp://www.airwar.ru/other/draw/i153eksprint.htmlI think you might have trouble finding photos that show the cowling face for any particular decal option that you choose, though, so it might not be possible to decide which engine type was used on any specific aircraft. If I find anything more helpful, I'll certainly post it.
Yes, the wait for those ICM I-153's (in both 1/48 and 1/72) seems to be taking forever! I've asked ICM several times by e-mail about the 1/72 version, but the answer continues to be "this year", the same as it was last year...
John