Question on Aoshima 1/350 Takao turrets

I have had a close look at the various model photos available for this class by Aoshima, and one thing disturbs me, that I hope may be helped by some readers!  Looking at the model photos, it appears that the main gun turrets have some sort of peculiar raised ridges in a gridwork all over them.  Looking at photos and specs of the actual ships, I know that the turrets on these (and other) Japanese heavy cruisers actually had an additional layer of sheet steel on the outside to protect the actual turret and its occupants from the effects of the tropical sun (the effect is similar to 'spaced armor' for you armor buffs!).  While these 'extra' plates certainly had joins between them, they really are not too evident with the exception of the ventilation gap that follows the outline of the turret itself, and/or when the turret has not been painted for a long time with rust showing up the joins.  I would have thought this would have been a wonderful opportunity to do something with photo-etch plating to simulate this armor spacing.  Is there anyone out there with experience with this particular model (or Chokai) that can comment on this?  I'd hate to have to sand down this stuff!