Missing Team Fortress 2 models found in game data

I’ve been amongst the thousands of people enjoying Team Fortress 2 since it was finally released a couple of months ago, and I continue to have a great time with it. The graphics, art direction, gameplay, and general atmosphere are all superb and I never seem to get tired of it.

I was quite intrigued when I saw a thread on the Steam forums that linked to an image of some missing Team Fortress 2 models. That is, the models themselves exist in the game’s resource files but they can’t be viewed anywhere in the game — they don’t have any textures either.

You can tell what a bunch of them are from their shape alone. The Demoman MIRV grenade (dynamite) we saw in one of the original trailers is there, as well as a bear trap, a fire extinguisher, a crowbar, a funky pistol, and what are presumably various types of grenades prior to their removal. I especially like the Medic’s grenade, which has a cross on the top and clearly resembles the Holy Hand Grenade from Worms.

I don’t think Team Fortress 2 would really have been enhanced by having all these glorious grenades in it, though. The game is already very chaotic and explosive, which would only get a billion times worse if every class could throw a stockpile of devastating grenades into areas where enemies will probably be, just like in Team Fortress Classic (You think trying to break through Dustbowl in Team Fortress 2 is bad? Try the Team Fortress Classic version!). The Demoman alone can wreak havoc in most maps thanks to his grenade launcher and sticky bombs.