There are hobbies you try once in a while… and then there are hobbies that grab you and don’t let go. That’s exactly what happened when we sat down with Brian Stoneman on Ashtabula Hobby Talk.
Brian isn’t just someone who “has an RC car.” He lives this stuff. He builds them, tunes them, competes with them, and then somehow manages to photograph them in ways that make you question whether you’re looking at a full-size truck or something that fits in the palm of your hand.
His story started back in 2018 at a car show in Pittsburgh. He was there doing what he normally does — taking photos — when something caught his eye. A tiny car slid sideways across the floor like a full-blown drift machine. That was it. That was the hook. One drive turned into buying his first RC drift car, which quickly turned into upgrading, switching to rear-wheel drive, and eventually competing.
And here’s something I didn’t realize before talking to him — competitive RC drifting is serious. This isn’t just driving in circles. It’s judged. You run lead and chase lines. You mirror the other driver. You maintain angle and control. If you spin out or straighten out at the wrong time, you’re done. Even tire wear matters. The cars get weighed and measured to make sure they meet regulations. It’s way more technical than most people think.
Then there’s the crawling side of things.
When Brian brought out his rigs, I honestly didn’t expect them to be as detailed and capable as they are. These trucks aren’t toys. They’re built with brass weights, tuned suspension setups, specialized shocks, and carefully selected tire compounds. There are different classes depending on how modified your vehicle is, ranging from realistic “daily driver” style builds to full competition rock machines built for nothing but climbing brutal terrain.
And if you ask what the best tires are? Be prepared for a long conversation. There’s no simple answer in crawling. It all depends on terrain, setup, and driving style.
But the part I personally love most about what Brian does isn’t just the competition or the technical side.
It’s the photography.
He’ll take a 1/24 scale truck out into the real world, position it just right, find the perfect angle, and suddenly it looks life-sized. The lighting hits right. The background disappears into scale. And for a second, you forget you’re looking at something small enough to carry under one arm.
That takes patience. That takes creativity. That’s not just hobby work — that’s art.
What also stood out during our conversation was the community around RC. There are local hobby shops keeping things alive. There are regional competitions happening every few months. There are national events where people build entire scale cities just so crawlers can drive through them. There are groups online sharing advice, parts, and even helping younger hobbyists build better rigs.
That’s what we love about doing Ashtabula Hobby Talk. There are people right here in our area doing incredible things that most folks never hear about. Whether it’s amateur radio, comics, fabrication, drifting, or scale rock crawling, these hobbies bring people together.
And at the end of the day, that’s really what it’s about.
If you want to see Brian in action, hear him explain drifting competitions, and check out the rigs he brought into the studio, make sure you watch the full episode of Ashtabula Hobby Talk. We had a great time recording this one, and you’ll walk away with a whole new respect for the RC world.
You can watch the full episode here:
After you watch, drop a comment and let us know what you think — and if you’re into RC drifting or crawling, tell us what setup you’re running.
You can also find Brian on Facebook
— Nemo
Ashtabula Hobby Talk
