I hear ya regarding bending back the torsion bar to set. I've done it on the JS-2, the T1 and Panther and every single time I cringe. It doesn't hurt the spring steel, but it sure feels like it should.

Just throwing one other thing out there besides adding weight to the turret back (if you haven;t closed it up yet). If you look underneath the turret overhang, you'll find a small round. I drilled that out to allow access to the TBU base screw in case you even want to pull it. You'll have a tough time reaching the rear screw once you glue the turret together. Think about it, even if you may want to do it in the future, you can organize the weights to still allow access.

Sinkers are a good idea, I usually fill the turret backs with steel BBs embedded in epoxy. It not only counters barrel weight (big on the JS-2 especially) but helps the turret sit better during rotation. The Pz IV turret is so light it rides up without it.