Hi Bryan,
Yes, you are right, if the head needs re-facing the cams need to be removed. Perhaps I mis-read the post. The head does not need stripping just to change the gasket.

As you say if the cams need to be removed, the job is a bit fiddly, there are locking pins and locating plates for the VVC units, but with a bit of care and understanding you can use a couple of drills and work your way round them.

Regards Mark

PS. The first one I did was a box of bits that somebody else had removed and stripped right down to the internals of the VVc units and then lost the plot. That took a bit of head scratching to suss it out. (and a phone call to Kelly Clarke)