Napoleonic French - Part 1

Decided to edge cautiously towards the current Napoleonic bandwagon.  Several players are looking at creating 28mm armies for both French and British participation, and I thought I might contribute a little.  My general fear of painting white means my plans are at best limited, and I only intend on collecting for one force, much too much painting of white for more than one.  I'm currently thinking of doing 3 battalions of French line infantry, with a CO and possibly a cannon battery.  I already own a box of Perry Miniatures 1812-15 line infantry, and have worked out I need just one more box to create my planned battalions.  

I'm looking at 28 men per battalion, with 24 men making up the battalion main, and an additional 4 models to be deployed if the unit deploys voltigeurs to its front.  They are mounted 4 to a base, with six 45mm wide by 40mm deep bases giving me a 270mm wide battalion.  This is slightly thinner than the others (plans for 300mm and 320mm I think) but this shouldnt cause a problem because we're using Blackpowder.  The first battalion is made, I now have to experiment with painting models sprayed white.