It turns manually quite easily. You will hear it clicking the gears, but it's not gone my tank any harm, and I hate to think how many times the turret has been off.If you think about it, if the batteries were flat, you would never get the top off!
Just to remove any confusion, taking the turret top off will only give you access to the turret mechanisms. I have found though, that I can get to the battery connectors without taking the tank top off. It is one of the oddities in the Tamiya instructions, which I blindly followed, it being my first tank. The instructions were to strap the two batteries in place with a thick cable tie. It was only when I got to the end where it said remove the batteries after use

. Mine stay in the tank.
Richard
Tamiya Tiger 1, Taigen FlakPanzer IV,Torro M16 half-track, Tamiya Panther,WSN/Torro T34,Taigen M41 Bulldog,H/l/Taigen Sherman M4A3,H/L T90, Haya M3 Grant, Metal Origins 234/2 Puma, Nashorn by Alwyn. I was only going to have one tank - honest!
